Memories of the Heart
by A Fire in the Attic
Summary: Sequel to Harry Potter and the Other Snake Lord.pairings the same.HP/Naruto Xover. "Some people believe that memories and emotions are spread throughout the body...they're called memories of the heart." Ch 15-Plagiarism? No.
1. Ch1: Obliviation!

_Okey-dokey! I know I said that this would be posted tomorrow, but I just couldn't wait...Enjoy!_

_**Disclaimer: **_**I don't own anything Harry Potter or Naruto related…except my interpretations of those great things. CHYEAH!**

_I should mention this chapter is in Draco Malfoy's point of view. I _am_ going to write this in shifting points of view, cuz no one complained about it._**Chapter 1 - Obliviation! **

I can't say it wasn't a relief to get out of school.

At the same time, I can't say it was.

While school wasn't ever 'fun'—what school is?—I didn't want to go home to my empty house. Now that I was 'free', my parents would expect at least a monthly visit from me in Azkaban. I didn't want to see my parents. I'd been told that Harry and my Mom had saved me, but if my parents hadn't been involved with You-Know-Who, then I wouldn't have needed saving. Ergo, she was not forgiven--at least not in my book.

My parents have incredible brainwashing skills. This is a simple statement of fact. I was raised to hate all things that they hated—a long list. From Harry Potter, to Dumbledore, to the Weasleys, all the way down to cream puffs. Yes, I was taught to hate them all. At the beginning of my first go through of seventh year, I was beginning to realize that they were being ridiculous. But working with You-Know-Who, I understood their reasoning. Fear.

Finally, I had been able to shake their teachings, sometime this year. I'm not quite sure of the time, but I know I didn't do it alone. What I don't know is who helped me. Sometimes, I'll try to remember, but I never can. It makes me sad, sometimes, because I can vaguely remember feeling very close to this person, like we belonged together.

But I can't remember. I get flickers of happiness in my past, but I don't know why I'm happy. I don't know who I'm with. It's almost like I'm alone, but…I know I'm with her. Who is she? I don't know…well, more accurately, I don't remember.

Sitting on the train, I get an idea.

What if…someone didn't want me to remember? What if they were willing to do anything to make me forget?

It was reasonable enough.

The question was why. And of course, how. The second question was simple enough to answer—obliviation. Not hard to do, perfectly legal. The perfect plan.

The first question was harder. Jealousy? Revenge?

Then…Who would do that?

I didn't know. A part of me didn't want to, but I pushed that part down.

I had to know. Otherwise, I would just remain in the broken state I was in.

That was a good word for me. Broken. I didn't belong with my parents; I didn't belong with the 'good' wizards. I didn't want to belong. I wanted to float through life alone. I was broken because I was alone. I was broken because _she_, whoever she was, was gone. I was broken because I didn't believe that my parents loved me. I was broken because my best friends, even if I never treated them like it, were dead.

Broken.

I got off the train, taking my bags, and walked through the barrier after Meg and Patricia. They were talking about something, but I wasn't listening until I overheard the word obliviation.

"Excuse me," I said. "Did you just say...obliviation?"

Patricia looked slightly miffed by my interruption, but Meg, who looked almost cheerful for the first time in months, answered. "Yep, she sure did."

"That's weird," I remarked off-handedly.

Patricia's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, that's weird?"

"Well, I was just thinking about it. And how…maybe…I was obliviated." I watched for their reaction. To my surprise, Meg smiled.

"That's three," she said softly.

"Three what?" I asked.

"Me, you, and Patricia. We all think we've been obliviated. Weird, eh?" She was smiling, still, perhaps because this was proof that we weren't all crazy.

"Very," I agreed. "Soooo…What are we going to do about it?"

Meg seemed pleased that I had asked. "Why, we're going to cure it of course!" She said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Come to think of it, it was. "You wanna help?"

I returned her smile. "Sure." I made it two syllables.

Patricia still looked skeptical, but she said, "Well…I've got to get going. My parents will be waiting…" She started to say more, but Meg interrupted her.

"Where are they, anyway? Shouldn't they have at least come to pick you up?"

Patricia's eyes narrowed. She sidestepped the question. "Where do you all want to meet? And work, too, I guess."

Meg frowned, but let it go. It wasn't her place to pry. "Well…I would volunteer my place, but…I'm technically only there until I can move out."

Patricia nodded. "Sorry, but we can't work at my house. There's…an issue."

Meg raised her eyebrows again, but remained silent. They both turned to me. I shrugged. "If you don't mind working at an ex-Death Eater's house," –the word was so wrong for where I lived—"It's fine with me."

Patricia's eyes softened. "As long as you aren't anymore, it doesn't matter. We'll be there."

I shook my head. "Unfortunately, it's a bit more complicated than that. I'll have to take you there. You won't be able to find it, otherwise. We'll need to meet somewhere."

"Hogsmeade?" Meg questioned.

"Nah." Patricia frowned. "I just got away from that area—please DON'T make me go back."

"Okay then," I said. "What about Diagon Ally?"

Patricia seemed to like that better. "Okay. Where?"

"The Leaky Cauldron?" It was the first thing that came to mind.

"Fine with me," Patricia agreed.

Meg just nodded. The smile was gone now, replaced with the look that was so often on her face. Misery. Pure, unadultured misery. It mirrored some of my own feelings, though for me, it wasn't quite so constant.

A new feeling raced through me—pity. It was a new feeling, and one I would never show, because no one likes to be pitied. Simple fact of life.

I wondered about Patricia. What was her secret? She hid it well, whatever it was. The only clue was how defensive she'd been about her parents.

Meg sighed. "I have to figure out a way to tell Mrs. Weasley I won't be staying with them this summer."

I shrugged. "Can't help you there."

She nodded. "I know."

"See you all at The Leaky Cauldron." Patricia was exiting the train station, practically flying out of the door.

Meg and I exchanged a look. "What's got her so flustered?" I muttered.

She shrugged. "I better get going, too. See you in a few."

I thought of something, suddenly. "When are we meeting? We didn't decide."

Patricia sighed. We both jumped and turned to face her. "Didn't you just—" Meg gasped.

"Leave?" I finished for her.

She sighed and muttered something about not paying attention. "I just came back in. We need to meet at five o'clock, SHARP. Okay?"

We nodded mutely. She gave us a toothy smile. "Buh-bye." And then she was gone again.

We stared after her, and then exchanged another look. "Wow," I said finally.

Meg nodded. "See you then." She left, too.

I followed after them. As I exited the door, a conductor yelled out "MIND THE GAP!" I marveled at how loud a muggle could be without any spell to make their voice louder.

I crossed the parking lot and cut into an alley. It was empty. Perfect for my purposes. Although I didn't really want to go through security, I needed to tell my house elves that people were staying for the summer.

I pushed the thoughts away, focusing. I needed to apparate, and I didn't want to end without eyebrows, like…who did I know that didn't have eyebrows? I couldn't remember. Maybe this was part of the memory loss. Hmmmm…

Focus, Draco, focus. I told myself firmly. I really didn't want to leave anything behind. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply.

The apparation process began. Apparating is a weird feeling…I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who's claustrophobic, because it feels like you're being crushed into this tight tube, and then getting pushed out like spaghetti.

Completion. A quick once-over to make sure I was completely not splinted. We have success!

I walked towards the gates for my house, and a wizard popped into existence. I ducked as a stunning spell shot over my head. "It's me…Draco Malfoy. The guy who lives here…"

"Why aren't you in school?" The wizard questioned.

"It ended today." I rolled my eyes in frustration. Ever since my parents had been taken to Azkaban, the ministry had taken it upon themselves to guard my house. Joyful. What this meant was every time someone comes to my house—including me—they have to go through the Spanish Inquisition. I'm not sure if the ministry was as concerned about me being 'under attack' as they were concerned about me not getting into dark magic.

His eyes narrowed. Special question time. "What is your favorite candy bar?"

I blinked. "I don't have one."

He nodded, satisfied, and let me enter. I paused and turned back to him. "I'm going to have two people staying with me for the summer. I'm going to get them around five, okay?"

"Who are they?"

"Meg Ryder and Patricia Edwards," I responded with ease. As if they would have any dark history.

"You better hope I don't find anything about them that compromise your promise to the ministry," he threatened.

"You won't." What is wrong with these people? I rolled my eyes and continued up to my house. I didn't really need to get anything, but it was important to tell the security and house elves about the visitors.

"Manny?" A house elf appeared with a crack.

"Yes, master?" Manny said with a bow.

"We're going to have some visitors. Could you prepare two rooms, please?" I added the please as an afterthought. Granger had been right when she said that house elves reacted better when you were polite to them.

"Of course. May I ask who they'll be?"

"Two girls from school. We're going to work on something."

Manny nodded, and disappeared. The crack was heard again, echoing in the empty house. Empty like the owner. Empty like me… Empty like Meg. Maybe Patricia. She was so good at masking what she felt.

I sighed. Melancholy colored my soul…

At last it was five o'clock. At last I could distract myself… I walked out of my house, down the walk, out the gates. The ministry guy popped into existence, again, and I waved cheerfully at him.

"I'll just be going now. We'll be back soon. That is…if they're okay."

He scrutinized me. "You don't know anything about them, really, do you?"

I blinked. "No, not really."

"Nothing about, Patricia, in particular?" He was trying to get at something, I could see.

"No. Nothing that she doesn't want me to know. Which means I know her name."

The man nodded, accepting this. "Very well." He looked ill at ease. "If you insist, continue…"

I smiled humorlessly. "I DO insist." Focusing now, I apparated.

I appeared just inside the Leaky Cauldron. After all, there was no reason to freak the muggles out by just randomly popping in and out of existence.

I glanced at the large clock on the wall. 4:59 p.m.

"Hmmm…Early." I jumped. Patricia was standing right next to me, also looking at the clock. "What?" There was a smile on her face, concealed by 'honest' confusion. A smile that said, 'yeah, I know I shocked you.' The clock chimed five times. "And Meg is late."

A few seconds later, Meg appeared. Her eyes were dull. She had a messenger bag slung across her shoulders. Here hair, still long and black, loosely hung around her face, covering quite a bit of it. She didn't want to be seen, simple as that.

"You're late." Patricia's voice was calm, crisp.

She stared at her blankly, and turned to look at the clock. "By thirty seconds."

"Yes." Patricia was apparently still condemning her. I hid a smile, and saw that Meg was also faintly amused.

She spoke, pretending to be annoyed. "So sue me."

Patricia wrinkled her nose. "As if. Stupid muggles…" She turned to look at me, now. "Lead us on, dearest Draco."

I raised an eyebrow. "Okaaay…" I extended an arm to them. They both stared at it blankly. "I don't want to splint you…" I hinted. "You kind of have to know where you're going to apparate. I know, so, we're going to have to side-along apparate. We're also going to have to go through security."

They continued to stare in basic confusion, but took my arm.

I focused. Apparation time, yet again. This stuff was just a big headache.

The tube seemed to me extra long this time, though that could have just been frustration. Or perhaps because I was taking people with me. I'd never actually attempted side-along apparating. Needless to say, when we all arrived in one piece, I was relieved.

"Halt!" The guard from the ministry—who else?

Security question time! It's almost like an American children's show. And now it's time for…and all that crud.

"Names of your parents, please."

Meg cocked an eyebrow at me. "I'll explain later," I muttered. "This would be the security I was talking about." To the guard, I said, "Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy."

Patricia spoke next. "Stephen and Elizabeth Edwards." She still looked skeptical. It seemed to be the constant face she wore, like unto Meg's misery, and my confident smirk. Beneath it all, we were all pretty much miserable… Meg was just the best at showing her true feelings…or maybe we were just better at hiding ours.

Meg paused before speaking, looking like she was fighting herself. "Tom Ryder is my adoptive father. My mother is Mary Ryder." Meg's voice was soft, sad. "They're both deceased." She tagged that on at the end.

No one spoke briefly; even the security guard was rendered speechless. Whether Meg intended it or not, her sadness made her appear broken and small. It disarmed people.

Then there were the times where she was normal, almost. She'd make a sarcastic remark, and shoot an annoyed look at you. A look that said, 'Gee, how'd you miss that one?'

I brushed that aside. "Are we done, here?"

The guard nodded, and we passed through the gates.

"Welcome to Malfoy Manor," I said gravely.

The ominous house stared back at us. A feeling of gloom settled in. I'm pretty sure the house was designed to be like this.

"Homey," Meg quipped, breaking the mood.

For a second, Patricia and I stared at her. Then we burst out laughing. "Girl, you are crazy," Patricia informed her.

With renewed cheer, we walked up the path. Well, not quite cheer, but it was a feeling of accomplishment. Like we were finally doing something worth doing.

After we entered, darling Manny appeared in front of us. "May I show the Master's guests to their rooms?"

Meg stared at me, agape.

Patricia looked rather disgusted.

I smiled cheerfully. "That'd be lovely, Manny. Would you, please?"

"The Master must only ask," Manny said with a smile. He turned. "This way, if you please."

We followed dutifully. Manny loved playing host, I saw. He took great pleasure in pointing out rooms and other things of interest. This was probably because he was a new elf, one that hadn't hosted the Dark Lord, and so he didn't get bad memories.

We at last arrived at their rooms. I was surprised to see that they were actually very nice. The windows were open, which in turn made the room seem more open. They seemed friendly, actually. A bright spot in this dark house.

After they had put their things in their rooms—I discovered that Meg had spelled her messenger bag to carry much more than should have been possible…including a small cauldron. I wondered why she'd brought that…Would we need that? We discovered that we were all pretty hungry.

Manny took us to the dining room where dinner was waiting. It was way too much food for three people, but that just meant leftovers for lunch tomorrow. My parents were disgusted with the thought of leftovers, but I considered it a waste to just throw all that food away. A simple refrigeration charm, and voila! Everything works out.

"So…" Patricia broke the silence. "What's the plan?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I was under the impression that you were the genius, here."

Meg waited patiently, brown eyes watching us.

Patricia sighed. "Well there's the obvious answer. First we'll have to research."

I nodded. "We have a library… It even has a dark magic wing, if you're interested."

"The ministry let you keep the dark magic books? Why?" Meg asked.

I smiled ruefully. "My parents managed to convince them that we wouldn't use them for anything, just keep them for old time's sake. Like it was for purely nostalgic reasons. I'm not sure why they believed that."

Patricia seemed impressed. "That's…good, I guess. You never know what you might find in the dark magic section. Spells and potions are always alterable. But anyway, the question is, what are we researching?"

"Well," I said, "We could try and make a potion…"

Meg grinned, and joked, "You Slytherins. Always looking to potions as the answer."

I laughed. "I did excel there."

Meg laughed. "Nah, I bet Snape passed you because you were in his house."

I frowned. "No, I passed last year, too. Though it seems the first month was easier. Hmmm…Slughorn taught, right? It seems like he wasn't there the first month. Only, I can't remember _who_ taught."

Meg exchanged a look with Patricia, and simultaneously, they said, "Obliviation."

I nodded. We thought for a few more moments.

"Well…" Meg said finally. "I doubt this would work, but what if we were to see the person who spelled us, maybe…maybe we'd recover our memories."

"I don't know. There are a lot of people, for one thing, who could have spelled us. If that were possible, though, I'm sure they would have taken off. Maybe gone as far as Japan," Patricia said.

At that time, we didn't know exactly how close to the mark she was…

"So. I guess we'll just have to wing it," I said, when we came up with no more ideas.

"I guess so."

* * *

_Someone requested yaoi. I am not Antigay, or homophobic, or anything like that, I swear. I just don't read or write yaoi. Sorry. Not happening._

_Also, I noticed that the characters talk like Americans. Tough luck for you people, but I also refuse to try and give them British accents. If they start spewing stuff like "Tommy Rot" and crap, everyone would know that IBG is a freaky American trying to sound Brit. Yeah. Not going to happen. I already look retarded enough._

_And now…(drumroll, please) IBG gives you a present! Read on! (In Usagi's Point of View!) _"…and you'll be best man, of course." I looked at Gaara, hoping for some reaction.

* * *

"Mmhmm."

This didn't mean anything, of course. Gaara had been saying 'Mmhmm' at exactly the right point throughout our conversation. Well, my conversation. I frowned, and then pulled my face into a pout. "Gaara-kun…don't you love me?"

He rolled his eyes. "Of course…"

I smiled triumphantly. He'd said something other than 'Mmhmm'!

"Then why aren't you listening to meeee?" I whined, pulling his sudden attention to my advantage.

He sighed. "I am listening."

"No," I informed him, "You're _hearing_ me. You aren't_ listening_. Don't you want to know how I plan to get married? Don't you care? About Haku and me? Aren't you glad that I'm going to be happy, and that I'll still live here? And that Haku will be staying here in Suna? You thought you'd lose a kunoichi, but instead, you gained a very valuable shinobi! Does that not affect you at all?"

He blinked. "Do you want an honest answer? I don't think you do. You want me to lie."

"You don't care." I pretended to blink back tears.

"Correct."

Now my eyes really did well up. "…You…don't?"

"No."

Anger rushed through me, now. I knew exactly the reason for his apathy. "Gaara, you idiot. Pull yourself together. She's gone, okay? She's in another dimension, for crying out loud. She doesn't remember you! I'm sorry, but it's true."

He looked at me, his eyes filled with impenetrable sadness. "Are you telling me you wouldn't be acting exactly the same if you lost Haku?"

This stopped me, bringing my anger to an abrupt halt. "Are you saying that you loved her?" I breathed.

He sighed, having anticipated the question. "Yes. More than my life itself. And now I envy everyone who was obliviated…they don't remember. And all I want to do is forget…"

I honestly didn't know what to say. Seconds ago, I'd been telling him to do just that. And yet…it seemed unfair to Meg. It seemed unfair that we'd left them… Unfair that we'd split so many couples…

I sighed. "I don't know what to tell you, Gaara. Love is strong, okay? Anything is possible."

He shook his head. "The spell is practically irreversible. I don't think that she'll remember...Or figure out how to remember. And even if she does, how will she get back to me?"

I looked into his forlorn eyes and saw the despair there. "Don't give up, Gaara. But you have to pull yourself together. We did what we had to, okay? It's not your fault; don't wallow in undeserving guilt."

He closed his eyes. The insomnia was returning, I saw. While he'd been in England with Meg, he'd slept for the first time in years. Now sleep was escaping him, and he couldn't escape in it. Guilt that he shouldn't be feeling was stealing it away, keeping him up at night. I walked around his desk and gave him a hug.

"My poor, poor little brother," I murmured. An old joke.

He sighed exasperatedly, playing along. "I'm not your brother. Usagi…Haku is waiting for you outside. Go see him…"

I took a step back and looked at his desolate figure, hunched over his desk, looking but not seeing the words in front of him. "Gaara? Are you sure you don't want me to do your paperwork? I really don't mind."

He shook his head. "I'm fine."

I knew that wasn't true. I didn't say a word. He knew I knew. I didn't need to point anything out. I sighed, and turned to go out the door. As I stepped through the threshold, I glanced back, and saw a single tear run down his face. His eyes were closed, remembering.

Remembering.

* * *

_By the way, the songs that fits this little bonus—at least, they made sense to me—are **Ohio is for Lovers by Hawthorne Heights** for Gaara's side, and **Move Along by The All-American Rejects** for Usagi, as in what she's saying to Gaara. (I own neither song, naturally.)_

_Anyone who know me…and knows my mind—which eliminates all of you, with the exception of Whitney, the inner me, and all my friendly neighborhood voices—knows that I can't ever just come out and type what I wanted to. This little bonus was supposed to be Haku and Usagi fluff…and this is what happened. So that'll be next chapter's bonus. Did I mention that? Every chapter's gonna have a bonus! Aren't you people lucky!_

_The next chapter will be better, I swear._

_With no further adieu, read and review!!_

_IBG out!_

* * *


	2. Ch2: Half Human

_Thanks to: mintmelodygirl, Stephy-chan, Anybody You Don't Know., Multi Guy, Inner Cameron, Lastelle of Konoha, Getting-up-for-the-let-down, Shukoru, The.Adventures.Of.Me, Sheenio, Man I'm like bored and stuff, ElementalDarkness, Originalitorian, The Full Moon Crys, Shrimps of Mass Destruction, and yrty. (I'm updating, see?)_

_This is in Patricia's p.o.v. The song for it would be Goodbye by Jagged Edge. Although the song is really talking to a person who's really more like a girlfriend, I'm relating it to Patricia and her parents.  
The bonus is in Usagi's. The song for bonus is All That Matters by Take That, but I couldn't find it on YouTube. If you can find it somewhere else, congrats. Alternate: All that Matters by Addison Road. (yeah, they have the same name)_

* * *

5:00, meet Malfoy and Meg at the Leaky Cauldron. I marked it in my mental To-Do list as I rushed out the door of the terminal. I had precisely one hour and thirty minutes to go home and get what I would need.

Hmmm… What exactly did I need? Malfoy, being filthy rich, had everything we'd probably need. Well, I could get clothes—doubtless, he wouldn't have that for me. I needed to see my parents, anyway.

I concentrated, taking care not to get distracted, and apparated to our house in the Rhondda Fawr Valley, set in Wales. We lived miles away from Porth, the nearby town, as far from people as we could get. With my father's…condition, we avoided all people—wizards and muggles alike—for their own protection. I stood on my porch, and turned to survey our yard a moment before going in. It was the usual disarray. My mum was so often sick from donating blood, and my father preferred to stay indoors with her, so the yard didn't get cleaned or trimmed much.

I waved my wand, and murmured a spell to cut the grass and by doing so, discovered a few lawn gnomes. I grimaced, and shook my head. My parents didn't mind too much what went on outside our home, which explained why the gnomes had homes _above_ the ground. I sighed and opened the door.

"Patricia? Is that you?" My mother's whispery voice carried from the back room.

"Hey," I responded softly, as I walked down the hallway. When I entered my room, my dad gave me a bear hug as I entered the door. I hugged him back, burying my face in his chest. I was surprised when tears sparked in my eyes. Dad released me, and I smiled up at him. "Hey, dad. Missed you."

He ruffled my hair, his almost black eyes sparkling, though not with tears. He'd lost the ability to cry long ago… He smiled. "We missed you, too." He stepped aside so I could see my mum.

She was sitting at her writing desk, and had just laid down a quill. She stood, but didn't come much closer. She was a little wobbly, I could see. "Hey, sweetheart." I crossed the distance between us, gave her a hug, and then helped her sit down.

I frowned. "Have you been donating blood?" A wry smile from the three of us at this. Our own personal joke…

She lowered her lashes, though, instantly contrite. "This morning…"

"Did you eat anything?" She shook her head. "Mum," I chided her, "You know how weak you get." I turned to Dad. "Could you make her some pasta?"

He nodded and left the room. "I think we have spaghetti," I heard him murmur as he walked down the hall.

"I realize that it's necessary for you to do this, Mum, but at least be responsible about it." I could push everything back now—the sense of loss, approaching misery—I had to take care of Mum. I sighed. I'd just remembered that I wasn't going to be here much longer. How would she make it without me? "You know I'm leaving for the summer today, right?"

"Yes…your father said he saw something like that." She paused, her eyes searching my face. Whatever she was about to say, I got a feeling that I didn't want to hear it. "He said you'll…be leaving, and you might come back one time…but then you'll be gone forever…" Her voice trailed off.

I stared at her. "Forever?" My voice was very small. Whatever I act like on the outside, deep down, I'm just a scared little girl who misses her parents and only wants to be loved.

She nodded. "That's what he saw." She looked down, and I saw a tear drip from her eye.

My dad returned, now. He offered a bowl of spaghetti to Mum, and she took it. "Do you want any?" he asked me.

I shook my head. Spaghetti seemed very trivial in the face more pressing matters. "Dad? You saw…forever?" My voice cracked on the last word, and I couldn't fill in the middle.

He looked down, to the left. His shoulder-length, curly black hair fell in his eyes. "Yes," he whispered. "You've gone to a place, in another dimension, it seems. Practically in another time, and no where near Wales, or even England—or the equivalent in that dimension." His voice was soft as always, and he was speaking fast, like he did in situations that were stressful for him.

I stared at him, eyes wide. "Dad…I'm so sorry…" He hugged me again, seeming unwilling to release me for a few moments. Mum rested her hand on my back, a reassurance that she was there. I felt the sudden urge to scream. I was angry; I wasn't sure why. I tried to hold it back, attempting to mask my face with sadness, rather than the anger I felt.

I failed, and the arms around me – my father's – grew tensed. He sensed the anger building up inside me. He released me, eyes wary.

I stared down at the ground. My body was tensed, my fists clenched. I was practically shaking with rage.

Somewhere, deep in the back of my mind, I knew that this wasn't a normal reaction. Unfortunately, the rest of me disagreed, and the fury continued to seethe from my very pores, along with the urge to break something. I had to get out of there.

Somehow I managed to choke out, "I'll be back in a minute." I ran out the door.

Outside, the cool Welsh air helped me to relax, and calm down. The wrath trickled away, replaced by peace. I took a shuddering breath. Now that I wasn't upset anymore, confusion and anxiety raced through me. Why had I been so angry? Was there something wrong with me?

Soft footsteps approached, interrupting my musings. The door opened, and Mum came to sit down with me. "Hey, sweetie."

I sighed. "I'm sorry."

She just shook her head. "Believe it or not, it's more my fault than yours."

I gave her a skeptical look.

She smiled, as though she had expected my reaction. Thinking about it, she probably had. "Really. If I hadn't married your father, you wouldn't be like this."

I rolled my eyes. "Mum, if you hadn't married Dad, I wouldn't exist, let alone have sudden anger issues."

"True, true." She paused, staring across the river. "It's not really anger issues, it's…well…I guess I'd have to start form the beginning…

"When I was seventeen, just out of Hogwarts myself – if you'll remember, I have a late birthday – I met Stephen. I was looking for a job at the ministry. I had gotten lost; somehow I ended up where they were detaining people…and creatures before they were to go on trial. That's where I found him. Behind bars…" Her eyes were glazed now; she was caught up in the story.

"What was he on trial for?" I asked. I'd never heard the story of how my parents had met.

"Murder." The answer didn't surprise me. "He was beautiful, of course. Impossibly so. It wasn't until later that I realized what he was…

"I looked at him, his eyes imploring me to release him from behind the bars. He was young, maybe a year older than me, but I doubted it. I didn't think he could have hurt a fly. He was strong enough, of course; I saw that. But his disposition was innocent, sweet. His beauty captivated me, and I was frozen there. Had he asked for anything, I would have found it impossible to deny him. His eyes asked me to free him, and so I stupefied the guards and helped him to escape.

"We fled across England, heading towards Scotland. I didn't want to be away from him, even though he wanted to protect me from himself."

"How'd you do it?" I was fascinated. "Did you travel by night?"

"For the most part. If we had to go through a city, we'd go through the sewer. It was safer that way. They wouldn't find us there, and no trace of daylight could harm him. Eventually, my original infatuation with him grew into love. We eventually made it to the Scottish highlands. We hid there for two years, moving around through the hills.

"Over that time, I think he started to realize that I wasn't leaving. He seemed to be sure that at some point, what he needed me to give would be too much. No matter how many times I told him…he never quite believed… I told him that no price was too high to be with him." She smiled wistfully. "I loved him so much. I told him so often, I think the words may have lost meaning." She paused here, a look of sadness passed over her face.

"Until he almost lost me."

Subconsciously, I leaned towards her.

"I went to the nearby town because we were running low on food. It was there I saw the guard who I had stupefied those two years ago. I was scared – I was certain the man would remember me. I ducked into an alley to avoid him. Unfortunately, doing so I ran into a couple of drunken muggles." She took a shuddering breath. "It was nearly night. Naturally, this did little to abate the sense of fear that overcame me. Even if I was a witch, I avoided using magic for fear that the ministry would catch me, and then in turn catch Stephen. I was a lone girl who had just ducked into their territory. They decided to have their way with me."

She closed her eyes tightly, as though she was trying not to see whatever memory plagued her mind. "I'll never forget that day. So much fear raced through me. I might have attempted escape, but they cut off that option, blocking the entrance to the alley. They were messing with me, scaring me even more than I already was. After a few minutes they got bored and decided to just get it over with.

"You can't…imagine…the feeling of violation…" she choked back a sob, unable to finish. "They didn't get far…Stephen was just there, out of the blue. He was so angry… He killed them. He was young, full of a never-ending rage. When they were out of the picture, his only thought was for me. That was the first time he told me he loved me, as he held me so tightly, amid both of our tears. That was the last time he cried, too.

"We were only nineteen, but we were already sure that all we wanted was each other. So we got married—now, Patricia, I don't want you to get married in two years, or anything like this. We were the exception, I think. We considered our options for a long time before we got married; we didn't want to make any mistakes. I knew it wouldn't be wise to be in close proximity with him, or bear his children. I would always be fairly weak, and the child would be more of a half-breed than the child of a muggle and a wizard. Even so, I chose him in the end."

"You did the right thing Mum," I murmured. "You and Dad just have to be together."

"Yes…I don't know if I could live without him. I would manage, I suppose, but… Still, I wonder if I made the right choice. Not that I would change it, I just worry about you. I can tell you're starting to go through the changes…"

"Changes?" I breathed.

"Yes…for example, your so-called 'anger issues'. It's more like…you're bipolar. Or maybe just really bad, irrational mood swings. Being outside helps…I suppose because your father always hated to be cooped up inside…and yet he can't go out. Your senses will be heightened; you'll move faster. Then there's the intelligence, which isn't bad, of course. The ability to mask what you're really feeling. Only someone like me—a normal person, I mean, and I don't mean that you aren't normal, sweetheart—would know that you were hiding your true feelings. And that's only because I've lived in such close proximity to you and your father."

I couldn't help but smile. Now that the story was over, he wasn't Stephen anymore, he was 'your father'.

"It's not that you're getting your father's qualities, though that's part of it. It happens with the average child, too. But you're getting them in such large explosions because you are only half human."

There. She'd said it. I couldn't blame her—it was the truth. It didn't matter, though, it didn't matter that it was the truth. It still stung. I heard the unspoken words, too: You'll never really fit in anywhere. Something will always be off…

I lowered my lashes, feeling so worthless. I wasn't sure why. A huge wave of sadness washed over me, drowning me in melancholy. I realized this was probably one of those mood swings she'd talked about.

I glanced at my watch, remembering that I had to be somewhere in—thirty minutes?! Where had the time gone?

I stood quickly. "I have to get ready." I flew through the door and into my room. I heard her mutter something about going through my life too fast as I ran down the hall, and suppressed a grin.

I grabbed a bag and proceeded to throw a random assortment of clothes—muggle and witch—into it. I glanced around my room. What would I need? My trunk was pushed against the wall. I strode over to it. Maybe something from school…?

I dismissed the idea and sat on top of the trunk. Malfoy would have everything from school. After all, I was going to his house. I looked at my bedside table.

There was a picture frame, with two (muggle) pictures in it. I could only see one—I'd stuffed the other one behind the first. I jumped down from the trunk and crossed the room, picking up the picture frame and sitting on my bed.

The visible photo was of my mom and me, smiling cheerfully at my father, who held the camera. We were sitting on the riverbank in the moonlight, my father's favorite time of day.

I slid the second photo out of the frame.

The hidden picture was of the three of us. I don't remember who took it—one of my mom's old friends, come for a visit? I don't know. My dad and mum look so happy in it, caught up in each other. I'm sitting by them, just grinning, because I know that I'm the luckiest girl in the world, to have these parents. They're so in love…and there's so many couples who aren't, who are just fooling themselves. So many couples who don't have children, or who abandoned them.

Yes…no matter what Mum says about how she shouldn't have married dad, how it would have been better for me, she's wrong.

My dad never liked being pictures, and the few times we managed to get one of him, he'd have an arm wrapped around Mum, to show that "the most beautiful people are just that—people." Despite this, he _was_ beautiful. Mum was too, of course, but it's hard to beat Dad. His skin is impossibly clear, his eyes perfectly shaped and colored. His hair looks like he spends hours on it, when in reality he gets up in the morning and does nothing to it.

Such beauty would make many women envious…one of the reasons we hide out. Well, not really, but one never knows…a random popstar might show up and try to screw up his face Michael Jackson style (out of jealousy).

I put the picture back into the frame placed it in my bag. May as well take it. I crossed the room back to my closet, just a bit restless.

I tripped over a box, spilling the contents. Unfortunately, my new gifts—if they could be called that—didn't include grace, it seemed. I groaned, and kneeled down to pick the junk up.

Old clothes, board games, a couple books…all back into the box. I was rushing, seeing as I was short on time. I did pause though, when I came across a book, leather-bound.

I opened the book, and recognized my childish scrawl on the first page. A journal. The only one I'd ever had, since I hadn't actually wanted it. I could remember the Christmas I'd received it.

I'd ripped the paper excitedly off the package. I'd known it was a book, but I'd been hoping it'd be a tale of knights, dragons, and of course, a princess.

So when I opened the book to reveal blank pages, I was disappointed. I looked at Dad, hoping for an explanation. "There's no words," I'd said needlessly.

He'd smiled. "You write the words. You write the story."

I wasn't convinced. "What story?"

"The story you want to write. It can be yours, or one you make up."

I hadn't been too excited even then, but my father has always had a way with words. Somehow, his voice compelled me to try it. I'd given up after the first entry.

But now…the offer was tantalizing again. I wanted to write the story, my story.

I stood, forgetting the mess at my feet with my new resolve. I would write my story, in this book. I crossed the room, and put it in my bag. There was no time to pack anything else—not that I'd really need anything else—so I closed the bag, and slung it over my shoulders.

I stiffened my shoulders, and headed to my parents room.

It was time for goodbye.

I crossed their threshold, and wasted no time in embracing them. We were frozen like that for a minute or two, a family group hug. Being held in their arms, I was strangely uncomfortable. Mum was too warm; Dad was too cold.

_You don't belong…_something within me whispered.

I was caught between them, though, and I didn't want their embrace to be taken away, no matter the physical discomfort. Emotionally, this was what I needed.

Mum spoke at last. "No matter where the roads of life take you, I want you to know, we'll always love you."

"Yes," Dad agreed softly.

My tears spilled over, then, and I pulled them closer, ignoring my dislike of their body heats.

Dad spoke again. "We know about him. You'll remember soon, very soon, I think, and you'll do everything to find him, even going somewhere new…" I think of the place he told me of. Is that where…?

I couldn't remember anything about 'him', though. I sighed. "Thanks Mum, Dad. I love you, too." The words sounded superficial to my own ears, though, but they were truly felt. It wasn't their fault, after all, that I was somewhat distracted. "Bye." I pulled them close for a final hug, but then released them and stepped out of their embrace.

I left then, before I decided I couldn't. I practically ran out the door, and apparated as fast as I could. Which was actually pretty slow. There I was, in the Leaky Cauldron's doorway. Precisely 4:58. A minute or so later, Malfoy popped up. I decided to give him a hard time for arriving after me.

"Hmmm…early." I said. Malfoy jumped; he obviously hadn't noticed me standing there. "What?" I asked, looking at him with mock confusion on my face. He looked a bit disgusted, to my delight.

The clock chimed five times then, signaling that it was now five o'clock. "And Meg is late."

Not longer after I had made the remark, Meg showed up, looking very inconspicuous, blending in.

"You're late," I informed her.

She stared at me blankly, and then shook her head, glancing at the clock. "By thirty seconds."

I rolled my eyes. As if that excused her. "Yes."

Both she and Malfoy seemed to find this very funny, although Meg pretended to be annoyed. "So sue me."

"As if. Stupid muggles…" and there stupid court systems, I continued ranting in my head. Dimly I realized that I had had another mood swing—from the agony of leaving my parents, I'd gone to teasing Malfoy, to picking on Meg, and now to anger at muggles. I couldn't find a rhyme or reason to these mood swings, I noted with some chagrin. I brushed it off, and smiled at Malfoy cheerfully. "Lead us on, dearest Draco." I wrinkled my nose a bit; it wasn't natural for me to call him Draco rather than Malfoy, but I wiped the look of my face before either of them noticed.

"Okaaaaaay…" He held out an arm to each of us. Meg and I just stared at him, not comprehending exactly what he wanted us to do. "I don't want to splinch you…" he continued, as if this would somehow clue us in. "You kind of have to know where you're going to apparate. I know, so, we're going to have to side-along apparate. We're also going to have to go through security."

I didn't know what he was going on about with security, but I decided that could wait until later. I still wasn't particularly pleased with touching him—I was certain that he'd be too warm.

Reluctantly, I took his arm, Meg doing the same. He focused, and then apparated to the Malfoy Manor.

* * *

(The Journal of Patricia Edwards)

July 1, 2000

Well. Malfoy really has a nice home, if you can call it that. I get the feeling he doesn't like it, so it's not really his home. I wonder if he has one. After all, supposedly, home is where the heart is, or whatever. I don't think Malfoy really has a place like that.

I wonder where he keeps his heart…haha, just kidding.

We didn't come up with any ideas, really. Just Malfoy's idea of a potion—a Slytherin, through and through—and Meg's idea that we 'see the person who cursed us.' I have my doubts. (Actually, I just doubt that their ideas will work at all. But whatever.)

I'm not sure if there is a way. Whoever created the spell was incredibly skilled, and probably figured out a way to do it without there being a way to undo it.

Not that I'm giving up hope, (this was my idea after all) I just find myself being a bit doubtful about the whole thing. I never mean to be a cynic, but I guess it happens a lot.

I think my dad might know all these people that I can't remember, only I can't figure out how. I'm wondering if his ability to 'sort of see the future' is oblivious to the fact that I can't even remember the people. But he seems so certain that I'll remember, and he did say _soon_.

On the subject of my father, Mum was right—I've had more mood swings today, I think, than I've had in my whole life. Weird, eh?

I was glad when Malfoy's house elf, Manny, showed us our rooms. They're surprisingly nice for Malfoy's dreary house. The windows were open, and it was almost like I was outside.

That's where I'm sitting, now, on the windowsill, with my feet dangling out. The wind is very pleasant, actually. July is a decent enough month when it's nighttime.

The moon is lovely, tonight. It's full…it reminds me of Dad: it's face is as pale and unearthly beautiful as his.

Sometimes I think Dad is perfect, except for his anger. (It's hard to get a rise out of him, but when you do, it's safer to be several miles away.) He's never gotten angry at Mum, at least that I can remember. I guess that just shows how much he loves her…

And maybe, one day, I'll have someone like that.

Although, as long as I'm obsessing over the whole obliviation deal, I probably won't find anyone. Unless there really is a special guy in my life who I've forgotten. Which I'm hoping for, but you never know…

I hope I remember soon…

* * *

(With Usagi)

I ran out of Gaara's office, almost choking on his remorse. I continued down the hall, nearly blinded with tears that weren't my own. I couldn't stand to see my 'little brother' like this, so broken.

"Haku?" I called. I needed him more than ever, now. He would warm the cold sadness that had such a hold on me.

I happened to glance out a window, and saw it was dark, past dinnertime. I must have stayed longer than I thought. It was hard to leave Gaara alone in this position, but it was harder to stay.

"Haku…" I called again, losing hope that he had waited for me.

But I relaxed as strong arms wrapped around my waist, pulling my back against my would-be attacker's chest. "Hey," he murmured, lips at my ear.

"You okay?" I asked. There was something off about his voice. Kind of like he had a cold, scratchy and cracked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How about you?" I'm sure he had noticed the tears that streamed down my face, though somehow I managed to speak clearly.

"_I'm_ fine…it's Gaara I'm worried about," I informed him.

"How is he doing? Any better?"

"No, he's still miserable." I sighed.

"I'm sorry," he breathed against my neck. I trembled a little, always surprised how he could affect me, like I was just a teenage girl with raging hormones. (1) He noticed of course. (He was, after all, a ninja.) He chuckled, and then released me, grabbing my hand. "Well, do you think he wants to come get dinner with us? 'Cause he can, if he wants…"

I shook my head. "First, I don't think he wants to. Second, that would mean I'd have to share your company with someone else." I poked him, and teasingly said, "And even if it's another guy, I get jealous, real easy."

He smirked, and said, "Well, let's go. I wouldn't want to lose anytime with the beautiful Usagi-san. I wouldn't want her to get jealous…it's unbecoming."

I decided to ignore his comments, dragging him down the hall. We were still to close to Gaara, and I really couldn't stand to be near him. It really reminded me too much of Juugo.

Not that Juugo had been pining after lost love.

But when he wasn't trying to go on a killing rampage, he really hated himself. He hated that he couldn't stop himself from that desire to kill. So he went to Orochimaru.

But in the few months before, there was that same tangible feeling of distress in the air around him. It almost constantly choked me, making it hard for me to breathe. But I pushed through for him. I wanted to do the same for Gaara, but I was tired. Tired of trying to be there for everyone, when all I wanted to do was slip away, into Haku's arms…

Unexpectedly, I twisted around and gave him a tight hug. He was surprised, but he'd already figured out to just accept my weird little quirks, holding me close.

"Never leave me," I demanded. "Never."

"I don't think you could force me to," he whispered, his face in my hair.

"Good." We stayed there for a minute, until he tilted my chin up and kissed me gently.

"Could you guys find somewhere else to make out?" We looked around and found Temari leaning against her fan in a doorway. "Is Gaara still in his office?"

I nodded. She sighed. "He should really come home sometimes…" she muttered. She smiled at us cheerfully and waved. "Catch ya later. I'm gonna go see Mr. Grouchy Pants."

"Bye," we murmured.

Haku took my hand again, and chuckled. "Let's go for real, this time."

I smiled back, and let him lead me from the hallway. He asked me trivial questions; I gave him trivial answers.

He was distracting me, and I really appreciated it. I didn't care to think of the melancholy things of life, currently. Even so, by the time we reached whatever restaurant he was taking me to, I was getting tired of it. So I asked him to shut up.

Shock and hurt graced his pretty face. (2) I sighed, and explained, "You don't want to strain your sore throat…"

He looked sheepish then. "I hadn't realized you noticed." Then he frowned. "Ask nicer next time."

I smiled at him, and leaned up to kiss his cheek. There was a time when a conversation like that would have become a shouting match. Of course, that was the time where I picked fights with him, taking out my anger at Juugo (though I didn't realize that's what it was at the time) on him.

Hesitantly, he smiled back. We walked into the restaurant, and sat at a table, waiting for the server. She came over, and took our orders. With a smile, she skipped away, promising that our food would be 'right out'.

I played with his hand, tracing patterns on it. He seemed to be only just tolerating it, but when I glanced at him, he smiled at me cheerfully.

Oh, where would I be without Haku? I whispered softly, "Thank you…"

"What are you thanking me for?" he asked. He tilted his head to the side, the perfect picture of innocence and confusion. Of course, he was always the picture of perfection.

"Where do I start?" I asked playfully. "For distracting me"—here, he pretended not to know what I was talking about—"for being so patient, for not giving up on me when I gave up on you, and for just being you."

He grinned at me, and ruffled my hair. "Anytime."

I fixed my hair with mock annoyance, but I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my lips. He could be so silly, on occasion. It was a nice change from the frustrated person he used to be.

The server came back, and set the food in front of us. "Thank you." I smiled up at her. She smiled and left.

There was a brief silence as we ate. We both liked quiet when we ate, probably because we don't have strong family backgrounds with the whole 'how-was-your-day' thing going during dinner.

If I got dinner, it was in the dark. If Haku got dinner, it was on the road.

So dinner was quiet time.

We finished, and he walked me home, holding my hand again. He liked holding hands. It was cute, I thought. But then again, I thought most things about him were cute.

When we reached my apartment, he gave me another kiss. "Bye, sweetie."

"Bye…" I whispered. I was reluctant to let him go, but I really did need some sleep. He kissed me again, and then stepped away.

I turned from him and opened my door. I watched him walk away, then stepped into my house, and went to get ready for bed.

After my shower, I pulled on a baggy t-shirt, and collapsed on to the bed, ending a very long day.

* * *

_There you go, Haku's no. 1 Girl. Your UsaHaku fluff._

_Important announcement: Alas, this is the end of my author's notes. Unless I have something to say pertaining to the story, I'm shutting up. I'll say thanks to reviewers, and normally, won't say anything else. To get information about my update schedule, you have to go to my profile, and click on the link next to 'My Blabblog'. I'll post things there. Is this rigged to get more hits for my blog? You betcha. I never said I'd fight fair. XP_

_(1) I just want to point out…we know this is true. But, contrary to popular belief, having 'raging hormones' doesn't mean I chase/obsess over guys all day. Sheesh. (Although, there was that one time…haha, just kidding.)  
(2) Yes, guys can be pretty. (I.E. Edward Cullen (I KNOW he is) and Tyson Ritter (Lead singer of All American Rejects. You can't deny!!))_


	3. Interlude

Thanks to: multi guy, ellabell, Stephy-chan, Getting-up-for-the-let-down, Anybody You Don't Know., The Crazy Evil Minish Neko, Inner Cameron, KyuubiNineDeaths, and RikoYuzuyu13.

Disclaimer: This is in no way what truly happened in Masashi's manga. This is what I've created. Interlude: A step back from the three main characters (sort of.) They'll tell the stories of others, while still telling the main story. You'll understand in a minute…

* * *

Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace  
We Will Become Silhouettes by The Postal Service (Two incredibly different songs...but oh well.) 

* * *

**Interlude**

* * *

Bipolar, and maybe schizophrenic. That was the conclusion most came to, upon meeting Juugo.

While this was true, most people didn't understand the reasons behind it.

Juugo's father wasn't a human, but rather, it was said, an incubus, making Juugo a cambion. (1) Naturally, people were frightened of him, in Sunagakure. (2) His mother dutifully loved him, caring for him despite the fact that he seemed dead until his seventh year, what with the absence of breath and pulse.

Before he turned seven, he was shunned by most, save for his mother. She never seemed to care that Juugo was merely the product of herself being raped. If questioned (and she often was),she'd inform people that it didn't matter to her how he got here, she would love him no matter what.

And she did, no matter how much mischief he got into. He would steal things, break them, and although she made him give what he taken back, and pay for what he'd broken, she never let her anger get in the way of loving him.

When he turned seven, not only did he start breathing, he inherited another personality. It seemed that for some reason, his demonic tendencies had been taken to a new extreme.

His mother was a wonderful woman who truly loved her son, but when he started screaming about killing her, she was convinced he would. She questioned him about it, asked him what she had done wrong. His only response was to yell louder. His eyes were so serious, she found herself quaking with fear. She tried to calm him down, but he wouldn't listen to logic.

She abandoned him the first time this happened.

Now, don't think too badly of Juugo's mother. No one knows what he or she would have done in her position. An angry Juugo was a sight to behold, and a terrible one at that. It must have been frightening to see a boy—_her own son_—threaten to kill her, and mean every word.

So he was alone. As soon as she was gone, he realized the error of his ways, and his second personality was born. This one, rather than bloodthirsty, was repentant and docile. He chased after her, apologizing profusely. She didn't listen, quite wisely. She seemed to know that he would return to the first personality, and ran as fast as she could. He was only seven, he couldn't keep up.

Alone and unwanted, Juugo reserved himself to living in the sand dunes, just outside of the village. He talked to the desert animals, finding comfort that he could talk to living creatures without the desire to kill them.

As for the lonely traveler, if he happened to pass Juugo's makeshift home, he never made it to where he was going. Juugo's self-hatred grew.

If he fluctuated to his other personality, the violent one, he would return to the village, sometimes. Someone would die, and the shinobi would chase him, only to lose him in the dunes. This continued for three years.

It was on one of these escapades that Juugo met Usagi. She was walking home from the academy, her eight-year-old legs carrying her as fast as they could. She didn't like walking through Suna's streets, because, as she said, they were "butt-ugly".

Juugo saw her, and two words came to mind—easy, and target. She was a newbie to the ninja life, and although he didn't have any training, he had the upper hand.

He activated his curse mark, another gift from his father, and ran at her, fists flying. He expected her to fight back. She did; even though he had the element of surprise, she wasted no time in gaping at him, but fought back, as though it were instinct. What he didn't expect was for her to actually land a hit or two on him. She punched his face, and in the process, broke his nose.

"Oops," she said. "Well, I suppose that's what happens when you attack a poor, little girl."

He glared at her, holding his nose, trying to catch all the blood. But it _really hurt_. "If you're a poor little girl, I'm the kyuubi," he muttered sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes and offered a hand. "Let's stop your nose from bleeding. I have a friend that works in the hospital; maybe she'll help you out…"

For a long moment, he battled with himself. Did he want to go with her, and put her life in danger? Of course, his other side argued, she could stop him if he tried. As demonstrated by the bleeding nose.

"I'm Usagi, by the way. What's your name?"

"Juugo…"

It didn't seem strange to them that they had so quickly gone from fighting to introducing themselves. After all, they were children. Things like that made sense to the young.

While her friend fixed his nose in her apartment, he watched Usagi, realizing she wasn't quite as immature as she had let him believe earlier. She lived alone, and fended for herself, just like he did, although it was apparent she had friends. Maybe they could be friends.

And they were. From that day forward, they were best friends. He stayed at her apartment sometimes, but he mostly still stayed out in the dunes. Sometimes, while they were hanging out, he'd spaz out, and attempt to attack her. He never could kill her; she'd always throw him off in time. She was going through the academy, and was more adept everyday, so he wasn't ever a threat to her. Then she started giving him lessons; teaching him the stuff that she learned everyday.

At first he didn't want to learn, to become more deadly, but she insisted. So he obeyed, even if it was only to make her chill out.

Soon, though, Usagi graduated from the academy, and was sent on her extended mission.

For the first time in two years, Juugo was alone again. No matter how lonely people are, once they have a best friend, friends they share _everything_ with, they're completely healed, but still fragile. When that friend leaves, their world shatters.

Usagi left, and Juugo's world burst into a million pieces. He went on a killing spree, and then had to flee the city to avoid death. He almost didn't; his violent side wanted to fight the nin off, and the gentle side of him wanted to turn himself in.

But he didn't, maybe to spare Usagi that pain. While he was crossing the country, he heard talk of Otogakure, and a man called Orochimaru.

The way people spoke of Orochimaru, Juugo decided to join him. Well, not quite join him, but make use of his service.

Orochimaru's village became a rehabilitation center to Juugo. He had no money, so when Orochimaru offered to let him stay for free, he jumped at the chance. He didn't realize that Orochimaru wanted to experiment on him, to understand what made him tick.

He wanted to know what caused the curse mark. Still, when Orochimaru asked, Juugo obliged, so long as he could stay.

An easily met demand.

It was in this time that he met Kimimaro. Kimimaro was a lot like Usagi, in that he became Juugo's new best friend. Also, like Usagi, Kimimaro wasn't ever afraid of him, and could beat Juugo whenever he felt like it.

Unlike Usagi, Kimimaro could stop Juugo from fluctuating between his personalities. He kept him calm, and if Juugo's temper flared, Kimimaro could easily return him to the other personality.

Five years passed.

Sometimes, when he couldn't sleep, Juugo would wonder about Usagi, what she was doing, if she was okay. He worried about her. She was, after all, his first friend. He never worried too long, though, since he knew she could take care of herself.

Then Kimimaro got sick, and had to be taken away from Juugo.

It came as a shock to Juugo, and his world shattered, yet again. He didn't kill anyone at first, to his own relief, as he was still locked away. Unfortunately, his hunger for bloodshed grew, to the point that he would kill the people who came to feed him. A slot had to be cut through the door for his food, so that servants could avoid death.

One of Orochimaru's servants, going through his teenage angst, had a temper tantrum one day, and released Juugo. He had decided to 'forget' how dangerous this could be. Juugo was stopped from killing anyone, but he also escaped.

Needless to say, Orochimaru was upset.

This didn't really matter to Juugo. He was still angry, and still wanted to kill something—preferably someone.

While he was in the Land of the Waves (how he got there, he was never quite sure), he came across a gypsy. Just one, an old woman who told fortunes.

He decided to mess with her a little bit before he killed her. He wanted to, so to speak, play with his food. So he insisted that she tell his fortune.

She knew he was a rogue nin, and could kill her if he felt like it, despite the fact that she herself was trained in some jutsu--like her puppets. She was fairly certain he would anyway, but with crazy people, it's just better to do what they say. She agreed to tell his fortune.

"You may not like what you hear," she warned. "The future is a tricky mistress. She may flirt for a while, but she may end up exposing you for the scoundrel you are…"

He barked out a laugh. "Just tell my fortune, Baa-san." He wasn't really going to put any store in what she said, anyway.

Her lips tightened into a thin line. "If you insist…" She didn't wait for an answer, just began.

"What no crystal ball?" he muttered.

It was true. She sat with her eyes closed, her hands clasped firmly in her lap. She didn't pretend, like most people of her social class. She used none of that tom-foolery—the tarot cards, crystal balls, bones, or Ouija boards. She had a true gift to see the future.

Her eyes opened then, but they were glazed over. She spoke, but the voice was not her own, but rather, it was many voices. (3) "A bunny…"

Juugo stiffened. A bunny? Usagi. Usagi meant bunny…could there be a connection…?

"The bunny is lost in the sand. It yearns to play in the snow, shown by its white fur…a winter hare. But the snow must be brought back, the snow…" The voices sounded worried and flustered. We must, no _you_ must help her. You must bring the snow back."

She was alert again, no longer foreseeing. "The snow must be brought back," she repeated.

He stared at her. "What does that mean? I still have half a mind to kill you." Only half a mind, for the possible mention of Usagi had caused him to pull up short. But it was only half a mention, if that, so it only half stopped him.

"Don't you know?" she murmured. She ran her finger across the wrinkles on her palm, tickling herself absentmindedly. "It means your friend Usagi needs you to bring him back."

"Who? I mean, who doI need to bring back?" For some reason, it didn't surprise him that she knew who Usagi was. He trusted her, and he relaxed, fully settling into the gentle personality.

"The snow," she said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Haku."

"Who is he?" Juugo asked in confusion.

"I don't know exactly, only that he's dead. You have to revive him."

"Um. Like, with CPR? How long has he been dead?" Juugo really didn't get it.

"He's too far gone for something like that," she said sagely. "To bring him back, you must give your own life."

For a long moment, he was silent. To give his own life, because someone said Usagi needed this man alive. To give his own life, and bring another back. To save _so many_ lives, lives that he would spare merely by not living. Had he been stuck in his other personality, there was no way he would even consider it. But now, he was so docile, and he had often begged Kimimaro to kill him while he was like this.

And now he had the chance.

He nodded slowly. "I'll do it. For Usagi. For 'Haku of the Snow'," he said softly.

The woman smiled. "Good." She stood, and walked towards the woods. He wondered if she meant him to follow her, and then decided to anyway. The worst she could do was tell him to go back.

He caught up to her quickly, his longer legs carrying him much faster across the clearing where her tent was pitched. Together, they entered the forest.

They walked in silence, and soon, Juugo heard the sound of the ocean nearby. A bird lit on his shoulder, and he reached his hand up to it. The bird leapt onto the hand, and Juugo whispered to it, becoming absorbed. He didn't notice the gypsy watching him, or how her eyes warmed up a bit. If he had, it probably wouldn't have mattered.

She pulled up to a halt, in front of two graves. Juugo thrust his hand upward, and the bird flew away. Very softly, so softly she wasn't even sure she'd heard it, Juugo whispered, "Be safe," to the bird. He watched the bird fly away, and then he looked at her. "What now?"

She smiled at his impatience, but inwardly flinched at the thought of being impatient to die. She detached herself quickly. It wasn't her place to argue with the fates, or create fate, only to make sure it played out right. "We dig up the grave. This one," she said, pointing before he could ask.

"Gotta shovel?" he asked. She gave him a look of disgust. He blinked. "Okay then." He proceeded to dig, using his hands. When the boy's body was out of the ground, still mostly whole, as he'd only been dead a day or two (4), Juugo was startled by his appearance. "This…is a _boy_, right?"

She looked at him, a small smile playing on her lips. "I assure you, it is. He'll probably go through puberty a bit more gracefully with your life force, though it may take a bit longer than it would for a normal person."

Juugo nodded slowly. "This is the one, right?"

She nodded. "That's him. Haku of the Snow, as you so aptly called him."

He blew out a breath, and asked, "So how do we do this?"

"Lay him down." Juugo obeyed. "You're going to use your chakra to shift your life force into his body. Kneel down, and put your hands near his heart. Focus all your chakra there, and your life, your very spirit, with it."

As he did what she said, blue chakra gathered around his hands, flowing into his body. He grew weaker and weaker…until finally, he slumped over, out of energy, out of life.

The woman, Chiyo, sighed and moved Juugo's drained body to the grave. All that was left was for Haku to awake. She regretted the death of this young man, but knew it had to happen. The fates demanded it, and she was their servant, doing their bidding.

Haku awoke. He sat up and looked around, clearly confused. "What's going on?"

Chiyo just shook her head, and said softly, "You must go to Konohagakure." She turned and walked away, leaving a very confused Haku. The fates had told her that she needed to return to Sunagakure to see her brother. Time to be an elder.

Haku went to Konoha, and mass confusion erupted. Kakashi and team 7 had just reported that Haku and Zabuza Momoichi had been killed. He explained that he wasn't quite sure what had happened. He remembered saving Zabuza, jumping in front of the lightning blade. He remembered apologizing, and then choking up blood. He remembered dying. But his eyes opened after what seemed like only seconds, almost like he just hadn't gotten enough sleep.

"The woman told me to go here. So I did. And here I am…"

After seven days of intense questioning from Morino Ibiki, Haku was allowed to stay in Konoha. He would go on to meet Chiyo-san in Suna, who would tell him of Juugo's sacrifice. Later, when Haku told everyone, he gained an enemy in Usagi. But the gap between them would close, eventually, as has been told.

The news of Juugo's death shook everyone, including Orochimaru and Sasuke, who heard about it through the grapevine. This merely rekindled Orochimaru's wrath towards the servant (now deceased.)

What no one could have guessed, though, was that Juugo had given Haku only his human life.

He would have become an Incubus, like unto his father, but too much of his docile nature survived his death. Besides that, he was really only half a demon. He didn't have enough power to become an incubus. Even if he had had enough power, he wouldn't have chosen it. He would never have fathered a child that could have become like himself—insane, half the time. Nor would he have put anyone in his situation, living life without a father, and later no mother.

Instead, he became a forest spirit, a mononoke (5). He was a shy, distant mononoke, and soon found he could be invisible, if he wished. At first, he had no memories of his human life, or how he had become a mononoke. Slowly, his memories returned. He remembered Usagi and Haku of the Snow.

He decided to find them.

Haku was easiest to find, since he had Juugo's very essence hidden within him. For a few days, Juugo followed him, invisible. He saw Naruto and Sasuke. They fought a lot, and then soon after, Sasuke left. Juugo left Haku, and followed Sasuke, hoping he would lead him to Usagi.

When he didn't, Juugo left Sasuke, and aimlessly wandered again.

Later, he remembered living Sunagakure, so he went there, to see if Usagi might still live there.

He found her, sleeping in her apartment. He studied her, seeing how much she had changed. Her hair was still long, still purple. It was exactly the same, with hair falling over one eye. She was older now; close to the age he'd been when he'd died—seventeen. He wondered how old he was now. He supposed he was seventeen. It made sense that he'd never get older, so he decided it must be true.

He focused on Usagi again; she had spoken. She got up and walked over to the window, where Juugo was standing. She looked through him and into the stars. "Juugo…" she whispered. "You're a real idiot, you know that? First you run off to Orochimaru, and then you decide to kill yourself for the girly man. What were you thinking…? I miss you."

He stared at her sadly, wondering if he made a mistake. He was torn. He followed her around throughout the years, and watched her become older, while he remained seventeen. It was twisted, he thought, that she should grow old, when he was actually two years older. But hardly anything bothered him, except that she wasn't happy.

She went to England, and he followed. He didn't have to touch the scroll; he found, that as a mononoke, he could travel between dimensions without a so-called portkey.

It was then he could relax and know he did the right thing, as he watched the romance bloom between Usagi and Haku.

When they returned to Suna, Usagi came to her window again, like on the first night. "Juugo…how did you know? Were you secretly a fortune-teller? I thought you told me everything. But…however you knew, thank you so much. You always wanted what was best for me…and I'm sorry for being upset with you earlier. I still miss you, but I've got some closure, now, right? Love you!" And she went to bed.

Then, she started talking to him every night. Mostly to tell him about her day (things he already knew), but she'd tell him her thoughts, too. One day, she was talking about her 'little brother.'

"You never knew him, I think, but you guys were a lot alike. You had the demonic heritage, and he had a demon contained inside him. Kinda sucks, I guess. You both were always aching to kill someone. He doesn't, not anymore, and I hope that wherever you are, you don't, either. And I hope you aren't as broken as him. I don't know if you ever found your true love, in your seventeen years of life. I kind of hope you didn't, since she's probably more miserable about the whole affair than I am. It's kind of like that for Gaara. It's like Meg, the girl he's head over heels in love with, has died. You know who Meg is, right? She's a girl in England. Really sweet. You would have liked her, I think. Most people did, when she opened up to them. She was always kind of distant, though… We had to obliviate her when we left. Obliviation is weird, you know? Anyway, I want, more than anything, for her to see Gaara again, and know who he is. I want it bad, but I'm not sure how. You're the magic fortune-teller, right? Can you help them out? Aw, I'm just being silly. Ignore me…"

But he found he couldn't. She was obviously very concerned for her 'brother', and he wanted to ease her mind.

He went back to England. Once again, he neede no portkey; the boundaries of space and time were meaningless for him. He slipped back through time, so that he could remember Meg, who she was, what she looked like.

And most importantly, how he could make her remember, and how he could bring her back.

He found her, clutching Gaara tightly, right before her memory had been erased.

They were walking down the corridors, walking to the Great Hall, where she would be obliviated. Out of the blue, she asked him, "Gaara? What does the symbol on your forehead mean?"

He smiled a little, and whispered, "Love."

That was it. Love. He memorized the kanji and the meaning, and slid through time, returning to the present. If a person could call it the present. Because really, who is to say when the present is? Who's to say that any one time was the present? Who had the right? (6)

He found her again, resting comfortably in her bed at Draco's. She was curled up tightly, her eyes flickering beneath her lids. REM, he recalled. She must be dreaming, he thought.

It was the perfect time to plant the memory. He wasn't quite sure how he would do it. He remembered something about a jutsu that Usagi had known, but even though he was pure chakra by now, he didn't know if he could perform that.

He could enter her dreams, but there was always the chance that she still wouldn't remember. He'd have to wait until she was sleeping lighter.

All the while she slept, he kept replaying the kanji and Gaara's voice, saying what it was. Light began to filter into the room, and he knew it was time.

Space and time had no boundaries, and neither, it seemed, did reality. He entered her dreams as easily as he had come to England.

It was a troublesome dream; at least it appeared to be so to him. She was obviously at great peace with it. It was a four-year-old Meg, lost in a crowd. She was shrieking for her mother, but no one answered. Finally, a woman scooped her up, a worried look on her face. "Meg!" she was saying, "Don't ever scare me like that again!" Meg clutched close to her mother, and buried her face in her mom's shoulder.

He shifted the dream, and felt only a little bad. This was important. Usagi needed to relax; she had enough drama in her life, what with the wedding and all. He planted the image of the kanji, a brilliant red to match Gaara's hair. And then Gaara's voice.

"Love."

Meg woke up with a snap, and he was thrust from her dream.

Mission: Success.

He waited, hoping she would remember something. She ran a hand through her messy hair. "So familiar," she murmured, and stood up, reaching for her bag. She pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill.

Within a moment, she had sketched the kanji, and written beneath it 'love'.

"But what does it mean?" After several minutes of muttering to herself—speculations that didn't make a lot of sense—she let out a frustrated sigh, and fell back into the bed. She rolled over, so her back was to the incoming sun, and tried to sleep again.

Maybe the mission had failed, he thought with disappointment. He sighed. He wasn't sure what else to do…

Meg fell back into a feverish sleep, and he watched her. He would help her remember if it was the last thing he did! Well, it would have been, had he still been alive…

* * *

(1) For those of you who are D&D fans, different kind of cambion. D&D has it wrong, basically… Look at wikipedia.  
(2) No, I don't know that he was originally from there. I doubt that he was; they would have killed him. But he had to meet Usagi at some point.  
(3) A common description, but it seems to me that it's the most accurate, when we're referring to actually seeing the future. I don't believe in the other stuff, but why couldn't a person prophesy? It may be blasphemy, but hey…nothing I've seen says it couldn't happen.  
(4) (Way too many notes, I know.) You wouldn't believe the math I had to do to figure this out.  
(5) Anything I say about mononoke is not necessarily true. These are just my speculations.  
(6) Sorry. Now probably isn't the time for philosophy.

_Next chapter: Meg's P.O.V!_

**FYI:I'm holding the next chapter hostage, despite the schedule, ifI don't get at least 15 reviews for this chapter! (I hate to do this…but seriously.i want to hear your thoughts! Write them, please!) And as great as it is to recieve reviews like "Omg, i love this chapter so much! UPDATE NOW!" (although, the latter ISN'T possible), we'd like something more...connected, you know? Like, why do you like the chapter? Is there somewayI can improve? That's why I'm here, okay? To get better. So PLEASE! Don't be afraid to be mean. My feelings won't be hurt...long.**

**Respectfully yours, **

**IBG-chan and Co.**

**P.S. Happy Birthday, Kisame! (It really is...i saw it on Wikipedia.)**


	4. Ch3: Love

Thanks for everyone's concern about the surgery! In case you're wondering, everything went fine. Also, I got over my writer's block, thanks to rap music...

Thanks to: KyuubiNineDeaths, InnerCameron, multi guy, RikoYuzuyu13, Stephy-chan, 0 bloodrose 0, Dragon of Twilight, AngelBornofHell, wingedangel52, Midami Uchiha of the Sand, The Full Moon Crys, xXHeatherMustangXx

Honestly? I needed 3 more reviews. But i posted for you guys cuz i love you.

All Around Me by Flyleaf  
I Will Hide Myself Away by Cartel (I could only come up with songs for Meg's POV)

Chapter 3 – Love

(Meg's POV)

There are so many people here, but they're all pretty much ignoring me. I'm a four-year-old, cute to look at on occasion, but not really noticeable. That's what I assume, but that can't be quite right. People tend to notice little girls who yell at the top of their lungs.

"Mooooooommy!" I shriek. I always called her Mommy, as a little girl, not Mum. Americanized, I guess. I'm not sure why, but that's how it is. She's Mommy.

People look down at me uncomfortably as they pass. Like maybe they feel like they should help, but they don't really want to.

I should feel scared, but I'm not really. I'm screaming…but I know it will be okay. Mommy won't leave me. She'll always be there… But now there's someone else here…the thought races through me, and continuing to yell for Mom, I look around.

No one. At least…no one who is raising my suspicions. Just then, mommy scoops me up, chiding me. "Don't ever scare me like that again!" she exclaims.

I bury my face in her warm shoulder, and whisper, "I won't," but my mind is distracted. Who is there? I want to ask.

Suddenly, I spiral away from my mother, eighteen again. Black surrounds me, coming to close, suffocating me…and then it releases. A red kanji fills my vision, and a deep voice fills my ears. "Love," it says, and all my protections break down…

* * *

I gasped and sat up. Shock raced through me, and I jumped out of the bed, reaching for parchment and a quill. I scribbled the kanji down, and wrote love beneath it.

"But what does it mean?" I hissed, running my hands through my messy hair. "Could it be something to do with mom, or maybe dad? No, that wasn't one of their voices. Love…love…what can it mean? Perhaps someone…love…" I continued talking like this until I realized that the same presence was in the room with me. It drew me up short, and I glanced around furtively. No one was there, just like in the dream. I shook my head. This was probably the result of too much speculation with Draco and Patricia.

I went to bed again—after all, it was only about seven—and tried to go back to sleep. But I couldn't shake the strange feeling that there was someone there with me. Eventually, I fell into a restless sleep.

When I woke up again, it was past eight. Uncomfortable, I got up to go to find a place to shower. The presence, or whatever it was, was gone. I was alone. "Manny!" I hissed. With a loud crack he appeared. The crack echoed throughout the house, and I winced. "Manny, could you be a bit more quiet?"

"Sorry, mistress. How may I help you?" he asked respectfully. He looked down, still respectfully, although it made me a bit uncomfortable.

I smiled, and murmured, "Can you show me where I can take a shower? I need to refresh myself."

"Shower?" His small, bat-like face showed confusion.

"Er, sorry. Bath. Could you please show me where a bath is?"

"Of course. Right this way…" He led me down a few halls, until he came to a bathroom. He showed me a towel, shampoo, the soap… "Will that be all you'll be needing?"

"Yes, thank you," I said quickly. I closed the door behind him, as he left, and turned the faucet on, plugging the drain. Wizards were so weird, I thought, as I watched the tub fill up. No showers…I had hated that fact throughout my stay at Hogwarts. Muggles had the right idea—using baths for babies and pampering, and showers for everyday quick use. I'm fairly certain that it's impossible to take a quick bath.

I'd grown up with everything muggle—showers, electricity, the whole nine yards. It wasn't like we had any muggles living with us, although we did live in a muggle neighborhood, but mom liked muggle things. As shown by her first marriage.

I used to think that she did it out of memory for him, her first husband. I asked her once, and she just sort of looked at me, like she was seeing me for the first time. "No," she said. "I do it because I like muggles. Where would we be without muggles? Even though they aren't directly affiliated with wizard society, they're a big part of our life. Plus, a lot of things they do make more sense."

As shown by the shower/bath example. It was true, though. I'd never thought of it, but mom had a way of explaining things that no one else really could. I knew Mr. Weasley liked muggles, too, but for him, it wasn't because what they did made so much more sense; he found their little quirks intriguing.

Right now, I wished I had my computer, and that I could look up the kanji that was still bugging me. I knew it meant something to me, but I couldn't figure out what.

A few minutes later, I sank into the bathtub, submerging myself completely. The water wasn't painfully hot, but it was a bit hotter than I was used to. "Spoiled rich people…" I muttered under my breath. For a minute I rested, comfortable in the bath. (See? It's impossible to be quick.)

I reached for the bottle of shampoo, and gasped in agony as I got a splitting headache. It literally felt like my head was cracking down the middle. I grabbed my head in an effort to put it back together. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to breathe.

Then came the memories.

They rushed in, one at a time, and I couldn't see any of them, but I suddenly knew why 'love' was so important.

Then I fainted.

I came to later, lying on my bed. I was wearing a cream-colored bathrobe, and my hair was put up in a towel. My head still hurt really badly, but that really didn't matter. I could have gotten up and danced. I remembered!

I looked around me, still lying down, since I really wasn't a good dancer. No one was in the room with me, but again, I felt that presence.

The door burst open, and Patricia rushed into the room. "Oh, good. You're awake! You had me so worried! Just imagine how I felt to come to the bathroom to take a bath, and to find you passed out underwater! It was terrifying. If you're going to take a bath, don't turn the water so high!" She took a deep breath.

"Wow. Didn't know you knew that many words," I mumbled.

She smiled wryly. "She speaks!" Out of the blue, the smile left her face, and her eyes narrowed. "There's someone else here."

I nodded. "I feel it, too."

She just nodded, not really paying attention to me, anymore. I suddenly realized that she was just looking at a corner.

I looked over there, confused. I didn't see anyone, or anything of interest, yet her eyes didn't budge. Something clicked, then. "You can see whoever it is, can't you?"

She didn't respond, and I took that as a yes. "How?" I asked.

She looked at me coolly and shook her head. She wasn't going to answer. Fine. Abruptly, I remembered the reason for my…ah…sudden lack of consciousness. "Patricia!" I gasped out. "I remember!"

She looked at me. "Hmm?"

"I mean," I said significantly, "I remember."

"Remember," she said slowly, "as in, remember, remember?"

I just nodded. I could almost see the wheels in her brain turning as she made sense of what I said. In the meantime, I slowly counted the beats of silence. Five, four, three, two, one…

"OH, MY GOSH! YOU REMEMBER?!"

Bingo. "Yep. Everything. I remember everything. I remember him…Gaara." I'm sure a goofy smile spread across my face when I said this.

She grinned happily. "Well this is great! We know it's possible, now! How did you do it? Tell me everything that we've forgotten!"

"It's kind of hard to explain—" I started, but I cut off when Patricia suddenly leapt into the air and dived towards that corner.

"OH, NO YOU DON'T!!" she shrieked.

I stared at her like she was crazy, but slowly deduced that for some reason, whoever was in the corner was leaving. Or…he was attempting to.

Patricia was gripping something—or someone, I supposed. "Now. Explain. Why are you here?" I stared at her in confusion. She was nodding, so I decided that whomever she had was telling her everything she wanted to know. Probably because he was confused that she could see him. Slowly she started to relax. "Is there anyway you could do the same for us?" Her brow furrowed. I deducted that he had answered in the negative. Okay. "Will it not work that way?" She looked a bit more disappointed. "Okay…Well…thank you." She released whoever it was, and turned back to me. Her eyes inspected me critically. "So. You really remember."

I was sitting up by now, and I nodded. "Everything."

She looked more frustrated. "I was hoping it wouldn't be this way. I wanted us to all figure this out together. But according to our little—" her eye twitched as she said this "—buddy, no one else will be able to figure it out like you did. Turns out, he entered your dreams and gave you an image that was indirectly related to what you wanted to remember."

"Oh!" I said. "So that's where that came from. But…can wizards do that?"

"He wasn't a wizard. He said he was…a mononoke, I think. Whatever that is. He said that he could enter into your dreams because there are no boundaries on time, space, or reality for a mononoke. It was easy to go back and pick an image that would spark your memories, or so he said."

I sat in stunned silence. "Why would he do that?"

She shrugged. "He said something about helping a bunny."

Now my eye twitched. "A…bunny?"

Again, she shrugged. "I just report the stuff, okay? I don't come up with it."

"How did you even see him? I couldn't. Do you have some sort of magical creature blood in you?" I asked.

She stiffened. "Why would you think that?" she said slowly.

My eyes narrowed. "Because… you saw the mononoke. You held it. I've heard of mononoke before, because I was raised in a muggle environment. I had friends that were muggle. We liked anime. I know what a mononoke is—it's a spirit." I paused taking a breath. "I couldn't see it. I probably wouldn't have been able to touch it. But, Patricia, you did."

She shook her head. "I'm no less human than you."

"I never said you weren't. Look, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, okay? But just know you can trust me, okay? I just want to be your friend." My words were honest. I didn't lie.

She nodded. "Thank you." She sighed, and ran her fingers through her platinum blonde hair. "I'm…going to go to my room, now. If you need anything, that's where I'll be. Draco left to get something…ingredients for veritaserum; I think he said. He actually had a pretty good idea…well, I'll let him explain it when he gets back."

I smiled at her, and she returned it. "Bye." She left the room.

I laid back on the bed, thinking about everything that had been revealed. "Gaara." I whispered his name again, liking the feel of it on my tongue. I started rifling through my memories of the beginning of last year. I liked these a lot better than the ones that had been placed in my mind instead. These were full of flavor and happiness.

Hinata really did look like me; it was a little strange. I wondered...maybe she's related to Mom's first husband...I wiped the thought from my head quickly; i didn't like to think of him. I missed her almost as much as I missed Gaara. Not quite as much, but still. I felt like I really belonged with them both, even more so than I had belonged with my old friends, who had stopped coming around after my mom died. They didn't like me then, because I was so closed up; so mopey.

It was easy to argue that perhaps they just weren't very good friends, but I think they just didn't understand. They couldn't really empathize. Gaara, though, he could. He'd never told me much about him, but I could tell he didn't have parents, either. Hinata, too. Or at least, she didn't have good ones. She'd told me a little bit about her dad, how he was always so overbearing and judgemental. I felt sorry for her.

I'd never really been a good friend to her. She'd said I was, but I wasn't sure she really felt that way. It was nice to hear. I just wasn't a good friend to have, especially with everyone around me dying. I really wasn't sure how I'd managed to make these friends.

Whatever the reason, I was glad.

I was getting closer to the night of the obliviation and the great battle. I couldn't believe it had all really happened. Not just the obliviation, but also the remembering. That was the more important part.

And he kissed me? I almost squealed, which really disturbed me, since I'd never been one to go goo-goo over boys. Yet here I was, hyperventilating because the so-called 'guy of my dreams' had kissed me.

Ironically, I realized that he was the guy of my dreams, as that had no doubt been his voice saying 'love' in my dream.

By now, I was just thinking random thoughts that barely strung together. I pushed Gaara from my mind, except for the fact that somehow, I needed to get to him.

For some reason, I had a feeling that he didn't live in England. No, I remembered—a trill ran through me at that word—he and his friends had been speaking Japanese.

So…Japan, maybe? Close, I thought, but no cigar. Japan didn't seem quite right. But where else would they be?

Something Patricia had said popped into my head. 'He said that he could enter into your dreams because there are no boundaries on time, space, or reality for a mononoke.'

I'd taken reality to mean that he could enter my dreams. But (theoretically), what if dreams were really more like another dimension? Then could he cross between dimensions, as well? Gaara and Hinata had never really seemed like they were from this world. What if they were from another dimension, a different layer of the world? And if that were the case, how did I find them?

The last question stumped me.

I looked for answers in my memory. They'd been here on a mission; they'd called it, for their shinobi village. They were protecting Harry Potter, who had, yet again, been the target of a dark wizard…or in this case, a rogue ninja. No doubt, McGonagall had asked them to be here. She'd always been very protective of the next generation. And if it hadn't been her idea, she would have agreed pretty quickly, if she knew the person in charge of the ninja.

So…it was likely that McGonagall remembered everything, since they'd obviously trusted her enough to send their ninja to England on a mission to help her. I needed to talk to her.

The only problem was that I had no idea where to talk to her. I could go back to Hogwarts, but that would be difficult enough as it was, since I'd have to apparate to Hogsmeade. I couldn't apparate very well as it were. Then, I'd have to walk to Hogwarts, figure out the password to her office, and convince her to give me a portkey, or whatever I'd need, to get back to them.

I really only wanted to do the last part.

Then there was always the threat that she wouldn't even be there…

I sighed and closed my eyes. I was really tired, even though I'd slept relatively well and had just fainted a few minutes ago.

…And I still need to take a bath. I sighed and stood, walking slowly out of my room, down the halls, and into the bathroom. It was empty, so I closed the door behind me. The clothes I'd laid out were still sitting on the counter, so I wouldn't even have to go back and get them.

Someone had emptied the bathtub, so I filled it again, taking care not to make it quite so hot this time. When it was full, I took of the bathrobe and stepped in. This time, I made myself rush. It still took longer than a shower would have, I noted sourly. When I finished, I got out and got dressed, keeping the towel wrapped around my head.

I returned to my room to get a hairbrush when I heard the front door open.

Strangely, even with two extra people in it, the house still felt like an empty shell. I wondered how Draco could stand it. Thinking back, he hadn't seemed too fond of it when he'd introduced it to us.

My hair was drying now, so I headed down stairs, hoping there would be some breakfast left over.

I practically ran down the stairs, relishing in the fact that I could. After all, at Hogwarts, it was impossible to go down the stairs at a pace faster than an inchworm might move across a fallen leaf. In the process, I almost ran into Draco, but I managed to stop myself. "Hey, Draco!" I said cheerfully.

He looked a bit confused at my levity. "Hello. Are you feeling better, then?"

"Oh, yes, much better." I tucked a stray piece of hair behind my hair. "Is there any breakfast left? I haven't eaten yet."

"Hmmm?" He was distracted, looking at a book. "Oh. Yes."

I glanced at what he was reading. "Veritaserum? Patricia mentioned something about that. What's up?"

He looked up. "Well, I thought maybe if I took veritaserum, and you asked me questions about the things that had been obliviated from my mind, maybe I'd have to tell the truth about it. And that might spark my memory."

"Wow. Slytherins are smarter than we Gryffindors give you credit for."

He smiled. "I'm sure it's the same the other way around, too."

I laughed. "I hope so." I paused. "Um. Which way is the kitchen?"

"Hmmm?" He'd buried his nose in the book again, and hadn't been listening. "Oh. It's that way." He pointed, and I set off in that general direction. I sort of wanted to explore the house, but I was hungry, and I did want to get there soon.

Strangely, though, it wasn't incredibly difficult to find. As big as the house was, the layout wasn't very confusing at all, very straightforward. Seemed like wizards scored a point when it came to housing. I'd been to plenty muggle houses this size and gotten lost very quickly.

I found a plate of food that was magically—and I'm not even being sarcastic when I say that—still warm. While I was eating, I remembered that I hadn't told Draco about the return of my memories, so I made a mental note to do that soon.

Suddenly, Draco flew into the room. "You remember?" he yelled. "And you didn't tell me?"

"Um." I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry?"

"How?" he asked, quickly brushing aside my forgetfulness.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure…Patricia explains it better than I do. Maybe you should ask her." I shrugged somewhat helplessly.

"I was about to explain before you ran in here like a raving lunatic," Patricia said dryly. "Now if you'll calm down…" She led him away, leaving me to eat my waffles in peace.

"Wow," I said after a minute. "These are some good waffles."

A painting beneath the clock raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?" the woman inside the painting said. "You remember all about the things that were obliviated from your mind, and all you can talk about is waffles?"

I just smiled and poured more syrup. "What can I say? They're better than pancakes."

The lady in the portrait sighed and promptly began to ignore me. Whatever. As if it really mattered what she said. I had more important things to consider, like how I was supposed to convince McGonagall to give me a portkey.

Hmmm…this was going to be very difficult. I sighed.

This was the part we hadn't thought of. We had planned on how to go about getting our memories back, but our grand plans had stopped then. We hadn't considered what we would do about the memories we found.

But now I had decided. I was going to get to Gaara—and Hinata—if it was the last thing I did.

"Sai, we have to move on." Sakura started the conversation; she always did. Never Sai, who was content to remain in silence, a false smile on his face.

Well, content wasn't the right word. He thought it should have been, but for some reason, he wasn't happy. Being new to feeling emotions, he wasn't sure what he was feeling, but he did know that he didn't like it. It had something to do with 'Snowflake', the witch who had accepted that he was a shinobi, a ninja, without doubting him—at least, she hadn't doubted long. And she had been so willing to help them in their cause. The cause supported them, but she hadn't revealed them…

He shook himself out of his reverie and looked back up at Sakura, realizing she was speaking.

"…not rational for us to still be thinking about them. They're across the world, and besides that, they don't even exist here…" Her voice trailed off. She was staring blankly ahead, her fists clenched in her lap.

They were sitting on a bench in the Konoha Park, watching children play. This was their D-rank mission, given to them by Tsunade, to 'keep their minds off of things better not remembered.' They were watching the academy students at recess, giving Shikamaru a 'well-deserved break', as Tsunade put it.

He looked back at her. Her soft pink hair was a bit untidy, since she was more concerned about working in the hospital, and not being useless, than taking care of herself. She was clean, though, but he suspected that it was only because she didn't want to bring anymore diseases or imperfections into the hospital. So most of the time, her hair was pulled back, and her forehead protector held her bangs back. She had bags under her eyes, from insomnia. She wasn't sleeping enough.

Before England, she hadn't been like this.

During England, she hadn't been like this.

It was only after when she came crashing down.

Her eyes used to sparkle; her skin was blemish free. She used to be happy, relaxed—well, not relaxed, but she wasn't so uptight. Now…she didn't care about much of anything.

It was sort of how he felt, but she showed it more freely. He had enough trouble understanding emotions, and he certainly didn't know how to show his emotions. So no one truly knew what he felt about leaving Patricia. He himself didn't… He didn't understand why it mattered so much, why she was so frequently on his mind. No one knew, except, he suspected, Sakura.

Since leaving England, they had been together almost constantly, so they had learned a lot about each other. Some people thought they were dating, but the truth was that they were just friends. The best of friends, practically inseparable.

The development had shocked people, least of all themselves. It was well known that Sakura was ready to kill Sai (or at least seriously injure him) at all times. So to see them chatting with no enmity was like seeing a whale walk into the ramen stand and ordering Naruto. (1)

The result of their abrupt bonding was that they knew each other better than anyone else did. Also, it sometimes felt like they knew each other better than they knew themselves. So it wouldn't have surprised Sai if Sakura knew exactly what he was feeling towards his precious little Snowflake.

But it was two-sided knowledge. As surely as she knew about his feelings, Sai knew about hers. She missed this Draco character as much as he missed Snowflake…

Patricia…

The name was like a whisper on the wind. He smiled at her memory. A real smile…

"I don't really want to forget, Sakura-chan," he said gently. He knew that now wasn't the time for nicknames. "I don't want to move on." He paused and looked at her, a bit of sadness teasing him. "You don't either. I can tell," he said simply, tapping his head.

She shook her head stubbornly. "I DO want to forget." She sighed, frustrated, and continued, "It's too stressful to remember him. To remember my friends… It's hard, because I know they can't remember me. How is that fair?"

Sai laughed. "It's not. But what in life is?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "That's not what I want to hear."

Sai smiled. "I know. But it's what you need to hear."

"NO!" Angrily, she stood, her fists clenched tightly. She wanted to hit him, he could tell. But lately, she'd gained much better control over her anger, so she was able to hold it in. Basically, she was holding herself back from hitting him. Instead, she spun around, and stormed off, irritation radiating off her body.

Sai watched her retreating form for a moment, and then looked back at the children. He might have followed her, even at the risk of getting punched all the way to Timbuktu, but he had a mission to complete. The Root's teaching was still embedded deeply in his head, so the mission was more important than his friendship with Sakura. Some things were a bit to hard to completely erase.

Plus, he really didn't want to visit the hospital as a patient, which an angry Sakura could arrange.

Patricia…my snowflake…

He allowed his mind to wander, leaving only his eyes to watch the children. He wondered what she was doing right now, if she even vaguely remembered him…

He regretted leaving her, of course. There was just something about her, about the relationship they had shared that had confused him. He wanted to know more about the bond they had shared. It had been so different from the relationship he'd shared with his brother, and even different from the relationship he shared with Sakura. He didn't understand, and he wanted to.

Before he'd left the Roots, he'd never really thought for himself, unless it was a spur of the moment thing for a mission. He did what he was told, and never questioned it.

Now, though, he allowed himself to think about what they had done by erasing the memories of those that they had held dear. Was it really our right, he wondered, to take away something that belonged to them?

And then, did we have a choice? That made him pause. The first one had as well, but not for quite so long. Had they had a choice? Was there some alternative they could have used? No one would have believed them if they had talked, he reasoned. Also, most of them would have promised not to talk anyway.

But shinobi were too distrustful. So when it came down to it, obliviation was the only option for the shinobi.

He hated it.

Pause. Hate? He hadn't been aware that he knew this emotion, that he knew what it felt like. That he was able to feel it. If that was the case, was love also possible?

He returned to his previous thoughts, too troubled by these to continue with them.

Sai knew that Patricia could have kept her memories. She had already learned about the shinobi, and she hadn't ever told anyone.

He grimaced, realizing that his thoughts had strayed back to her specifically, but he brushed of the irritation. He didn't really mind that much…

There was just something about her he liked. Her personality was fiery, but she wanted people to like her beneath that tough exterior. She could be dedicated, she'd shown when she tried out for Quidditch, made the team, and never missed a practice, no matter how upset she felt. When she had friends, you didn't mess with them—well, really, you didn't mess with any Gryffindor—she wouldn't stand for it. She'd do anything to protect them.

And he couldn't help but wonder, if, by some twist of fate, he were the one who needed saving, would she protect him, too? He wished he could ask her.

But most of all, he wished that she was there.

"Neji?" Tenten's voice floated to him.

"Here," he murmured, not raising his head. He wasn't sure he really wanted her to find him like this, crying, but he didn't want to be alone, either.

She appeared next to him a few seconds later, and took his hand. "Hey, beautiful," she greeted him.

Through his tears, the corner of his mouth turned up at her childish greeting. "You're the beautiful one," he pointed out, glad that she hadn't commented on his emotional display. It was a change from his normally stoic disposition, so he was sure she had noticed. But, wisely, she knew what not to say.

"Pssssh. Have you looked in the mirror?" she teased. He laughed, allowing this.

Abruptly, the mood sobered, thickening the air visibly. His eyes turned away from her calm face, returning his eyes to the grave. Grass had grown over it now, long and green, swaying in the wind. It looked very gentle and calm, very like the shinobi that now laid to rest there.

"Hizashi-sama was a good man, Neji-kun." Her voice was soft, as though she were afraid that he would break at the slightest bad word. He just nodded, his lips tight. He noticed the flowers she had in her hand, as she knelt down, flattening some of the grass so that she could rest the flowers against his headstone visibly. She stood, dusting her knees off.

"Flowers?"

She nodded. "They do it in England."

"Oh." He took a shuddering breath, and added, "That was nice of you."

She smiled. "It's important to respect the dead—even those you don't know. Besides, I know you, so it's almost as if I know Hizashi-sama." She hugged him, rubbing his back as she did so.

He pulled her close, reveling in her closeness, in her scent. "It's hard." The two words were saturated with pain that would have been invisible to any one else. Any one but Tenten.

"I know."

He shook his head in frustration. "No, you don't!" It was petty and childish, he knew, but the words were out, now, and he couldn't take them back.

She sighed, trying to hold in the sudden flash of anger she felt towards her boyfriend. "Yeah, you're right. I don't know. I can hypothesize, based on my own observations, but, yeah, I can never know." Her anger spiraled out of control, and she snapped, "I have no idea! No idea what it's like to lose a father, because, oh yeah! I NEVER HAD ONE TO LOSE!!"

He flinched. "I—"

"NO! SHUT UP! GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR BUTT AND LOOK AROUND YOU!"(2) She took a deep breath. The fury was gone as soon as it had come, and she calmed down. Her face softened, and she looked up into Neji's eyes, cupping his face with her hands. "Neji, I DO know how hard it is. I also know I'll always be a little sad when I think of the parents I never had. You'll always be sad, too, when you think of your dad. But guess what. I also know that as long as I've got people who care about me, and people I care about, I'll be okay. And you will, too." She kissed his cheek, and whispered, "You don't walk an easy road, so let me help you."

Neji smiled. "You already have, silly."

She smiled, and stepped away, taking his hand again. "Come on. Let's find Lee-kun and Gai-sensei."

He smiled back and nodded. "Yeah." He paused, and turned back to the grave for the last time that day. "Happy Birthday, Otou-san."

As they walked away, hand in hand, searching for their friends, Neji looked down at Tenten. She looked up at him. "What?"

He smiled. "And you say I'm the beautiful one…" (3)

Aww, what a sappy ending, IBG-chan. Okay, so allow me to explain that last bit. I knew I was going to write some NejiTen fluff, cuz someone requested it. (please feel free to make requests!) Unfortunately, I wasn't sure where to start. Then inspiration struck! Personally, I think it's a load of crap that Neji doesn't still think about his dad. I mean, seriously, if your dad died, would you just completely move on, and never get a little sad when you thought about him? No, of course not. At least, I wouldn't. I know Neji is displayed as a prick that doesn't really care that his dad is dead when he talks about him in the beginning. He acts like he's more upset about the stupid Hyuuga clan setup than the death of his father. I don't think that's a good interpretation. Really, the main branch is just his scapegoat, something he can hate, and something he can blame his father's death on. I wanted to point out to people that Neji is only human, and that he really does care about things other than being a good shinobi, and serving the main branch…blah, blah, blah. Hopefully, you guys got that from the oneshot type thing.

(1) If you remember, it's a garnish for ramen, made of fish paste or something. It had something to do with fish…  
(2) A shout out to my band director, who says this all the time!  
(3) If you don't get it, he's saying that she's beautiful not only because her outward appearance is pretty, but also because she's got such a…dare I say it…beautiful soul. (Stupid Jesse McCartney…who I don't own, thankfully.)


	5. Interlude: Temari, Juugo, and Hinata

Sorry it's late but…(**B.E.G.I.N.N.I.N.G O.F R.A.N.T**) Okay. Seriously, guys. What the crap is up? I only got four reviews last chapter. Did everyone decide that they weren't going to read it?? I've had at least one person begging me to write in Meg's Point of View, and when I do, I don't even get a review from them! What the crap?? Needless to say, I'm a bit upset. I'm telling myself that no one has read it yet. In any event, go back and review. Whether you read it or not. Review it. Now. That chapter couldn't have been perfect! Nor was it screwed up. **SO WHY DID I ONLY GET FOUR REVIEWS?? **I really don't know why I'm so upset…my only guess is that this is my favorite story, and I really liked that chapter. I even posted on time, guys! So what's up?! I'm mad. Very mad. Please make me happy this time…(sniff) (**E.N.D O.F R.A.N.T**)

P.S. Since I'm so upset, I'm only writing things about people in the Narutoverse. I don't think I could do justice to the other characters. Consider it punishment. Along with the lateness.  
Thanks to the people who did review: lamson, The Black Inferno Alchemist, RikoYuzuyu13, ElementalDarkness, and Multi Guy. Oh, there were five. Still, that's too few. C'mon, guys…

* * *

**Interlude – Temari, Juugo, and Hinata**

* * *

(Temari)

I'm about ready to tear my hair out. How could this happen?

After months of avoiding _him_, here _he_ is, standing in the suddenly tiny room. I remember something a wizard had said in England, making fun of Americans. He'd said something like "This town ain't big enough for the two of us…"

That's how I feel, sitting in Gaara's too small office, looking across the room at _him_.

_He_'s equally dismayed, though _he_'s much too lazy to show it. But I've known _him_ for a while, and I know _his_ signs of distress. The straight posture, eyes open all the way, the lack of expression on _his_ face. Hard to see, but the signs are there. _He_ isn't any more excited to see me than I am to see _him._

I whirl to face Gaara, not wanting to see _him_ just yet. "What's going on?" I demand of my brother.

He looks at me, wearing a blank expression to hide the sadness. It shows through his eyes, but he can't help that. Unabashed, I stare right back. He rolls his eyes, and turns to look at _him, _now. "What do you want, Nara?"

_He_ looks back at Gaara, tearing _his_ eyes away from me. "I…Yeah, I got a message from the Hokage." Lazily, yet still somehow on edge, _he_ strolls forward, careful not to look at me, and hands Gaara a scroll.

Wordlessly, Gaara takes the scroll. He starts to open it, but he pauses and looks up at us. We're both frozen, shocked into stillness. For some reason, this irks him. "What?" he snaps, his voice filled with irritation.

I open my mouth, and then shut it. I see _him_, Shikamaru—I grimace as I think his name—mirror the gesture.

Gaara sighs. "Get out, please."

I spin on my heels, wanting to get out of here as fast as I can. Unfortunately, Shikamaru seems to have the same idea. Not that Gaara hadn't ordered us both to get out, but hey—a girl can hope, right?

We stumble out the door in sync, pulling to a stop as soon as we cross the threshold. "What are you doing here?" I hiss.

He glares back at me, now. "Troublesome," he mutters. "Didn't you just hear? Tsunade-sama made me come. The message." He gestures with his hands in irritation.

I clench my fists, hanging by my waist. I want to hit him; he's such an idiot. Does he honestly think I care that he's been ordered to come here? That doesn't mean he has to be so _close_ to me.

A small, mocking part of my mind points out that I'm being petty. He has to listen to what Tsunade says, not what I think. The rest of me shoves that piece over. I don't want to hear it. "Can you just…leave me alone?" I snap finally. I've been restraining my violent tendencies, and they're about ready to explode.

"Look, it's not my fault that you happened to be in his office. I didn't come here intending to annoy you. Or even _see_ you, for that matter." He's just as irritated as I am. I grasp the concept suddenly, something about his words alert me to his anger.

Not that I really care. Why should it matter to me if he's uncomfortable? It doesn't.

I guess I'm trying to convince myself, but I'm failing. Because even though I'm so pissed off at him, there's a small—okay, not very small—part of me that's a little…happy to see him. I wish I could squish that small piece of happiness. He doesn't deserve it, after what he said to me. "Well, you can leave, now," I inform him dismissively.

He rolls his eyes, "Actually, no, I can't. I have to see if there's a reply, genius." He says the last part sarcastically, and my eyes narrow. I may not have an insanely high IQ, but I'm not stupid. I strike back.

"Oh, you're the only genius here, Shika-kun. Isn't that right? A strategic genius." My tone is biting.

He flinches at my accusation, but he can't deny it. After all, I just repeated his own words. He looks away, apparently finding a spot on the wall very interesting. "You know I didn't mean it that way," he says quietly.

My lips tighten, and I look away, too. I don't like to think of myself as an instigator, though Kankuro has informed me I am one, often enough. I refuse to see myself as anything but the victim, here. After a long pause, I look at him again. He's scrutinizing me closely, maybe imagining 100 ways to apologize, or to make me realize I was wrong. Maybe now, he's narrowing it down to the three best possibilities. And when he finishes that, he'll pick the best one, and apply it.

Unfortunately for him, I don't want to hear it. I turn away from him, walking down the hall. I don't bother with goodbye—he doesn't deserve it, I remind myself. I'm pretty sure he's be too lazy to bother with following me as I walk away, but to be safe, I speed up.

When I get outside, I head to the market. I've always liked it; it's filled with the life that has always been absent in my own home. People bicker over prices on bread and other goods. I notice a stand with delicacies that were normally found only in Konoha, and head in that direction. Whatever the vendor is selling will be expensive, but I want to see if anything good is there. My brother is the Kazekage, like our father before him. I definitely have the money…

When I reach the stand, careful not to make eye contact with the salesman, I glance at his wares. Nothing good, I decide. Like someone else from Konoha, I think bitterly. I walk off before anyone tries to talk to me. I like the market when I'm on the outside looking in. I don't like participating with the people there.

Most would never see it, but I'm more self-conscious than I let on. I like watching people, or maybe just watching things. Practically anything worked. I can watch a mother and her daughter, or even a whole family spending time together. I never have parents, so I'd never learned how to be a sister, or how a mother might act around me.

Instead, I used to watch other big sisters bossing their little brothers around. I tried to be bossy. I succeeded.

And for a long time, I thought—okay. That's it. That's all I have to do to be a big sister. Yell at Kankuro every once in a while; try not to make Gaara angry.

But then…I slowly started to realize that there was more to being a big sister. I had to be their substitute parent, since we had none. Of course, we had Dad, but he hardly counted. Idiot man. I curse him, even now.

I'm running out of market to walk through, and darkness is falling lightly. Great. That means Shikamaru will probably be staying at the mansion. It's a courtesy all ninjas from Konoha get—staying in the Kazekage's home. It's to show how much we trust each other, I guess.

If you ask me…and, by the way, no one has…I think it's a bit stupid. At any point in time, Konoha could decide they don't like the alliance, and murder Gaara in his sleep.

Not that Gaara sleeps.

But Kankuro and I, well, we sleep. We could die. Perhaps this is why I dislike the idea of allied shinobi being so close. It seems cowardly as I think about it, but that's beside the point, I think. And anyway, it's not so much cowardice as it is self-preservation. At least…that's what I'll tell myself. It's amazing how well we shinobi can lie to ourselves.

The truth is, to be a killing machine, you have to lie to yourself. It's impossible to defeat your enemies if you see them as people. It helps to lie to yourself, to say that whoever it is just looks like a person…it's really just a scarecrow, or a puppet. Or if you know it's a person, and you can't fool yourself, then he won't really die.

And then you won't remember. They blur, the deaths do, until they are just a parade of faceless victims, moving on to heaven or hell...

I haven't killed that many people—I'm still pretty young for a ninja, all things considered. Although, I could die any day. In ninja time, my life is almost over. The life of shinobi is so stressful, and death is almost certain to come at some point, on some mission.

Maybe not so young…

The lucky ones—if you can call them lucky—live longer. But to live, we must kill.

It's a hard life, but it's the one that fate has dealt us. We all hope to win. But in a game with so many players…our fate is uncertain… The bids are high; the players are tough. We can only do our best.

I come out of my reverie as I reach my house. I need to concentrate, now, to avoid running into a certain pineapple head.

This pulls me up short, and I reach up, pulling my hair down. I don't want to resemble him at ALL.

It's about dinnertime, but I'm not really hungry. I decide to skip dinner, hoping that Kankuro doesn't freak out and think I'm anorexic. That happened recently…it wasn't pretty. I head up to my room, so I can just go to sleep. I'm pretty exhausted—emotionally and physically.

Plus, Shikamaru will be at dinner. I don't want to see his ugly mug.

Not ugly, that small part of me argues.

I sigh. Life is getting too frustrating, and it's all because of him.

I'm at my room, now, and I slam the door behind me. In our house, a slammed door means 'Don't talk to me. Please. Penalty by death…' I'm fairly certain no one will bug me.

I change into pajamas, and climb into my bed, pulling the covers over my head, and try to sleep a little.

The room grows still. Sounds float in from the adjacent rooms—Kankuro's yelling, the clicking of puppet joints, and the banging of Kankuro's fists on my door.

I groan. Why does all noise seem to be caused by Kankuro? Gaara is silent. Shikamaru is silent. Why can't Kanky be? "GO AWAY!" I yell groggily—I add the grogginess to make it seem like he woke me up.

"Oh, come on. I know you were awake. Come eat!" he calls back.

"NOT HUNGRY!" I yell, abandoning my sleepy tactic.

He gasped theatrically. "ANOREXIC!!"

I roll my eyes, and shout, "NO, I'M JUST NOT HUNGRY!!"

"LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIES!"

"Whatever," I mutter, and I roll over, attempting to find that stillness again. I should probably know by now that Kankuro won't ever let well enough alone.

I hear the door open, and light filters into the room. Suddenly, my body contracts, and I'm forced into sitting position. I recognize the feeling of shadow possession, and I'm forced to get up, and walk out of the room. I'm following Shikamaru down the hall, screaming threats and obscenities at Kankuro.

I hate him.

Okay, well, not really. I don't REALLY hate my brother. But I really, really, really don't like him…(1)

Kankuro just laughs. I growl. Kankuro is walking next to me, and I really want to smack him. But thanks to a certain shadow manipulation, I can't… Or…

"Shika-kun…" I call sweetly.

"What a drag…what?"

"Do me a favor, and lash out with your right arm." My head snaps around—Shikamaru is looking back, examining the situation. A second later, my arm connects with Kankuro's face, and my head faces forward again.

"Hey!! You're supposed to be on my side!" Kankuro yelled indignantly.

"What a drag."

My shoulder shake with laughter that isn't my own, but I join in. The look on Kankuro's face, which I can only observe from the corner of my eye, is priceless.

I remember I'm supposed to be mad at Shikamaru, and I abruptly stop laughing, though my body is still going through the motions.

We reach the dining room, and I (forced to do so) sit down. Shikamaru is sitting next to me, and Kankuro, having regained his good humor, sits on my other side.

Food is placed in front of me, but I can't seem to look at it, only at Kankuro. I realize this is because Shikamaru is looking at me. "This is absurd," I inform them both. "I can't eat like this, unless Shikamaru is doing the same thing. Which will be next to impossible, just so you know."

Kankuro raises an eyebrow. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

I still can't see Shikamaru, but he says, "She's right, you know. Personally, I don't want to pretend to eat food…it would be a drag." Inwardly, I grin. He's playing along.

"Well," I hint, "If you want me to eat, the jutsu will just get in the way…" For this to work, Kankuro would have to think that it was his idea.

I watch Kankuro's face light up. "We could release you from the jutsu! THAT WOULD TOTALLY WORK!"

Quite seriously, I say, "That's why you thought of it, I'm sure."

"I am a genius, aren't I?"

"Oh, yes, Kankuro." I feel my muscles relax, and I slump over. When you've been possessed by a Nara, you tend to sort of just float, doing what they make you do. You expend no effort, so your muscles are pretty relaxed.

But more importantly: Mission—success! "Look!" I gasp, pointing. Kankuro's head twists in the direction I'm pointing, and Shikamaru, humoring me, looks, too.

Quickly, I replace myself with an antique vase, and vanish in a poof of smoke. I'm running down the hallway, and I burst out laughing when I hear Kankuro yell "HEY!"

When I make it to my room, I nearly run Gaara over. "Escaping dinner?" he asks.

I nod. "I'm not hungry. Nor am I anorexic," I reassure him.

He looks at me strangely. "I may be…distracted most of the time, but I know you aren't."

I ruffle his hair. "I know, silly. It's 'cause you're so much smarter than Kankuro."

He smiles a little, and says, "Good night, Temari."

"Goodnight, Gaara-kun."

He smiles at the suffix—a real smile—and passes me. I turn to watch him for a minute, saddened by his misery. It's not fair that he should be the only one suffering—other than Sai and Sakura, I mean. What about Meg? She can't even remember him. (2) How is that fair? It makes me want to cry.

Shikamaru rounds the corner, on his way to his room. He freezes when he sees me.

Hesitantly, I smile at him. "Thanks. For the help escaping, I mean." I pause. "And for the slap."

He smiles back. "Sure." He looks like he wants to say something else, but he stops. "Um. Good night."

"Yeah," I say softly. "Good night."

I'm opening my door, about to step across the threshold, when Shikamaru blurts, "Your hair looks nice. Down, I mean."

I glance at him in confusion. "It's all messy."

He's blushing, and he shrugs. "It's just…pretty."

I blush, too, and step across the threshold. "Thanks." I close the door behind me, and lean against it, trying to regain my breath, and calm the butterflies in my stomach.

* * *

(Juugo)

Most euphoric, Juugo returned to Usagi. Days had passed. Normally, he would have gone back in time, so that he wouldn't miss a second of Usagi's life, but this time, he merely went to Suna, at the basic same time.

Usagi was at her window, leaning out and looking at the stars. She seemed troubled. "Juugo? Are you there? It's like you've been gone the last few days…"

A pang of regret struck his heart. He didn't want to hurt Usagi. He thought about going back, to take that pain away, but he wanted to hear what she was going to say now.

"Well, I'm sure you can't just sit around here, following me around. You probably have things to do, wherever you are." She paused, and reached out the window, towards the stars. "Stars…they're so pretty. I wonder what they really are…I mean, everyone knows they're just big balls of gas, but that's not romantic in the least. I prefer to think of them as souls… Have you ever heard? Every time a person dies, you see a shooting star. But I wonder…are they shooting for the sky, or falling from it?" She sighed, and said, "Good night. I think your back now…but I can't be sure. I wish you could talk to me…" With a sad look on her face, she turned away from the window, and went to her bed.

His heart almost broke for her. Almost. After all…you can't really break what's already been broken.

* * *

(Hinata)

**I'm With You by Avril Lavigne**

My silvery eyes searched the crowded streets. They were searching for one ninja in particular, but anyone watching me of these eyes wouldn't have known. Except, maybe, my fellow silver-eyed friend.

His silver eyes are perceptive, though, so that could hardly count.

In any case, Neji wasn't here. I was alone, at least for the moment. I was waiting for Naruto, but he was running late. He seemed to have picked that up from Kakashi. I tried to remind myself that I wouldn't even notice the fact that he was late nearly as much if I wasn't so punctual. It was in my blood, though, to be on time. Most of the time, I'm EARLY. It's just how I rolled.

I closed my eyes, hoping to release some anxiety by breathing deeply. I tried it, but to no avail. Come on, Hinata, I coaxed herself. Relax. It's totally okay. Naruto is not hurt, he's on his way. And he's not ditching you for some other girl.

Honestly? I'm not that confident of a person. Not secure in anyway. So when Naruto was even just a little late, I worried. About him, too, but I mostly just worried that he'd left me. It didn't seem conceivable that he'd chosen ME, shy little Hinata, of all people. I still questioned his sanity, sometimes.

Glancing down, I plucked a bit of lint from my shirt. I shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. I felt very conspicuous, just standing there. I wished he'd hurry up.

I didn't like being alone; it made me feel bad. It made me remember my first best friend. Meg. …Oh, Meg…

I tried to distract myself, thinking instead of the wedding that was coming up.

Haku and Usagi had invited practically **everyone** they'd ever met. Nearly every citizen in Konoha was going, including my entire family. Yes, every Hyuuga had been invited to the wedding. It was sure to be filled with ostentatious pomposity, especially if Usagi was helping to plan it. And since it was her wedding…well, she was probably helping.

The wedding could only occupy my mind for a little while, though, and soon, my thoughts wandered to the last expression I'd seen on Meg…

Despair…loss…betrayed.

I shoved it from my memory, thinking instead of Naruto, and his smiles. At the thought of Naruto, though, I started worrying. Had he left me? I wasn't good enough for him. I never had been; it wasn't fair for him to be stuck with me. There were better girls for him--anyone would have been better for him. Sakura, for one.

My thoughts twisted when I thought of her. When we'd returned from England, she'd really just lost herself. It was awful to watch her, sinking deeper into pits of despair.

Her whole life, she'd been aiming to please people. She tried to be good enough for Sasuke until he left. She decided she didn't need him them, but then she was trying to be good enough for her team. She never did something to please herself.

Now, it seemed she'd just given up. She had no one to please, anymore, it seemed. She still had her team, of course, but she didn't seem to take motivation.

She'd left herself in England with Draco. Now, she was just an empty shell.

And Draco…poor Draco. He didn't remember, but he must have felt the absence. I think I would have, if I lost Naruto. Even if my memories were erased, I would feel the absence.

Meg's face flickered across my memory again. I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut. I was not going to cry again! At least, I wasn't going to cry in public. I wanted to escape to the sanctuary of my home, but I didn't want Naruto to wonder where I was. I stayed put, doing my best to hold back the tears.

I tried thinking of something else,**anything**else, but the image was there to stay. Meg's eyes stared at me accusingly. They were hurt, and seemed to be asking me how I could simply abandon her like this.

A scene started playing, now. I watched as a wand was waved at her, and a flash of light darted at her. It struck her, and she blinked. Her eyes opened, but they were no longer alert, but dull and confused. She fell over, and was taken away, back to her room.

She'd forgotten.

Now, it was too much. I sank to my knees, sobbing openly. People openly stared at me, and normally, this would have bugged me. But by that point, I was beyond caring.

Strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me to my feet. "Come on, Hinata-san. Let's get you home."

"But…Naruto. I have to…I have to…meet him…here," I whispered.

"Hinata-san, please. Let me take you home. Naruto will understand. I'll explain it to him myself. Please, my lady, let me take you back home, so you can be alone…" Neji whispered in my ear.

I wrenched myself free from his grasp. "NO! No…that's what started this whole mess."

Neji looked at me sadly, and then nodded. "I understand, Hinata-san. Do you want me to stay with you until he comes."

"Yes…please," I murmured. I paused, and then added, "And…please don't call me 'san'. It makes me feel old."

He smiled at that and ruffled my hair. "Okay, little Hinata-chan. Your wish is my command."

We laughed together lightly, and then grew quiet. Hyuugas aren't the loud sort; we like to be quiet and unnoticed. This is great for being a shinobi, but at the same time, it makes us terrible conversaters.

So it was with great pain—it was apparent on his face—that Neji said, "Do you want to talk about it?"

I grimaced. "I'd rather not **think** about it."

He nodded. "England?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. I guess. It's more of…Well, I was thinking of Meg. I feel like I betrayed her. No, I **know** I betrayed her." I shrugged helplessly. "Did we have the right to erase their memories?" I asked, hoping hope against hope that we did.

But I saw Neji's lips tighten. "What answer do you want, Hinata-chan? Because I'm pretty sure I don't have it." He sighed. "No, we didn't. We had no right to just steal those memories away. They deserved to keep them. And yes. We did betray them. You're exactly right.

I sighed. "That's what I was afraid of."

* * *

(1) Do not own _Hate (I Really Don't Like You)_ by the Plain White T's.  
(2) No one knows she can remember him, yet.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Guys! Have you been to StephenieMeyer(dot)com lately? GO NOW! There're all these new posts…TWILIGHT! Edward looks amazing…I love Robert Pattinson. Disagree if you must…but I love all the actors, especially Emmett. (Who I own, by the way. Bet you didn't know that.)

And…has anyone seen Sweeny Todd? Not the movie, but the musical…we did it at my school, and it was absolutely amazing… Weird, though. And funny. Heehee. Okay, so yeah, I'm morbid. Deal with it.

Okay, guys. Could someone tell me what song fits this chapter? I couldn't figure one out.


	6. Ch4: Discoveries

**Chapter 4 - Discoveries**"…and that's what happened," I finished.

* * *

Draco (my thoughts paused—when had he become Draco?) gaped at me, his mouth hanging open. Slowly, he closed it, and nodded. "So…she remembers…everything?"

"Yep." I whistled a tune to myself, not quite sure where it came from. Dad, maybe. He was always humming something or other. Draco was muttering something to himself. He picked his book back up and started thumbing through it, searching for the recipe for veritaserum. He found it, and then walked out of the room, and up the stairs, to his…laboratory? I'm still not sure what you'd call the place where he brews potions. "Need help?" I asked.

He seemed surprised at my voice. "What? Oh. Yes, sure. If you're up to it."

I smiled, and said, "Yeah, I don't have much else to do."

"Okay. Well, this will take about 30 days of stewing after we mix it. I think I have all the ingredients, but I'll need to double check. We have to follow the directions **precisely. **One wrong step, and we could create a poison…" He continued rattling off random thoughts as we entered his 'laboratory'.

"Don't let Meg help," I said, as I looked at the instructions. "She'd really botch it. She got out of potions as soon as she could, I remember. She just wasn't good at potions…"

He nodded. "I wouldn't know," he admitted. "I always tended to get involved during potions, either in kissing up to Snape, or in the actual work."

"That," I said, "And the fact that you never had a potions class with us."

"Oh. That's right, you lot are a year younger than me. I never can remember that. Did you like potions?"

"They were alright. Not my passion, like they're yours," I admitted. "I passed the class with flying colors. Like you said, the key is following directions."

He nodded. "Well…do you mind me asking? What is your passion?"

This threw me. I'd never really thought about it, to be completely honest. I mean, sure, I went through the whole 'what do you want to be when you grow up?' in my sixth year, but I just told McGonagall something to get her off my back. "I…I don't know. Nothing has ever captivated me. At least, I don't remember anything captivating me." As I spoke the words, they struck a chord within me. "I think…I was captivated with someone. But that's not a career choice. That's not a passion."

He watched me speak, and then nodded. "Yeah…I know what you mean. About someone captivating you, I mean. I don't remember who it was, either, but…I remember feelings. I remember longings…"

I nodded, too. "That's it exactly." For a moment, we were silent. I finally said, "What's the first step?"

We set to work.

Around noon, Meg popped into the room. "Hey, guys! What'cha doin'? Oh. Potions…" She ended the sentence with a grimace. "Count me out…" She shook her head, and then smiled. "What do you guys want for lunch? I'm helping the house elves!" She looked very proud of herself, like a little boy who'd finally been told that he was old enough to use a knife. It was comical, but I did my best to keep a straight face. I think I succeeded, but I can't be sure. Her eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly as she observed my face.

"Um." I racked my brain for some kind of food.

"Grilled cheese sandwiches?" Draco guessed.

"Perfect! I'll come get you when it's ready." She skipped out of the room.

"She's awfully happy," Draco grumbled.

"She must be happy about remembering," I mused. "That, or she fell in love."

"Love?"

"Well, sure. That's how we wonky females act when we're in love. Freaky happy."

He laughed, and then seemed to think deeply. "But who would she be in love with? It's not like she's seen anyone but us."

"Whoever she remembered. I don't remember her ever being this happy before, so it must be love and the fact that she remembered," I speculated.

"Perhaps. You'd probably know better than me."

"Why do you say that? I don't really know her any better than you do…" My voice trailed off. "Wow. I just realized that I know absolutely nothing about either of you. About **anyone**."

"And no one knows anything about you, either," he pointed out.

"Maybe it's because I don't trust anyone," I said softly, chopping mandragora roots into small slices. "Or maybe, because no one trusts me."

I wasn't sure why, but I felt wounded by these possibly non-existent accusations. Why wouldn't someone trust me? I didn't talk to people. It's not like I would spread dirt about them…

Maybe the silence was part of the problem. No one notices quiet people.

But I was on the quidditch team! I should have been a hero to my fellow Gryffindors, but no…we would win games, and everyone would be congratulated but me. Even Meg. Although, that may have been because Harry had attached her to his shoulder.

I stopped. Why did I care? It had never bothered me before. Why was it bothering me now…?

I looked up at Draco. He was watching me closely, perhaps for a sign that I was distressed. I carefully hid my anguish, thanking my freaky parentage for emotion control.

"Are you oka—" Draco was cut off by the entrance of Meg.

"Lunch is ready," she chirped.

"Great!" I said, and rushed out of the room. I felt their eyes on me, but I pretended not to notice.

"Is she okay?" I heard Meg ask Draco.

"I'm not really sure. She's very good at hiding her emotions," he responded.

"So I've observed," Meg said quietly.

I reached the stairs, where I could no longer hear them, a fact I was grateful for. It was true: I didn't like people knowing too much about me. Maybe that's why I didn't have many friends—I was so closed off.

I slowed to a more normal pace when I reached the bottom of the stairs. It felt weird running through a house…almost taboo.

Manny was at the door to the kitchen. "In here, mistress."

"Just Patricia," I said. "Thank you." I stepped past him, patting him gently on the head.

There was a pile of grilled cheese on a plate on the table. Next to it, there was a stack of three plates, each one perfectly shaped, perfectly designed, perfectly painted, not a crack. I rolled my eyes, and took the one on the top, placing a few sandwiches on the plate.

Meg and Draco arrived, and I smiled at Meg. "Went a little crazy, didn't you?"

It was true; there were about 15 sandwiches on the plate, even though I'd taken two.

She shrugged and smiled. "Better than doing potions."

I laughed. It was a nice sound…I suppose that sounds narcissistic, but I hadn't laughed in so long that it really **was** a nice sound.

After they had grabbed a few sandwiches for themselves, and sat down, they started chatting aimlessly.

"How's the potion going?" Meg asked, obviously disinterested.

"Just fine, thank you," Draco said nonchalantly.

"I imagine you could respond like that to many things," I informed him.

"I imagine you're correct," he agreed.

"So, Memory Girl, you never told me what you remembered," I said, poking Meg in the side.

"Do you want me to tell you? Because I will, but I don't want to ruin the suspense for you, or make you feel bad because you can't remember any of this. Anyway, don't you want to remember for yourself?"

"Um…nope. Tell me anyway."

"Really?"

"Yep," Draco and I said together.

"No, I don't want to."

"What? Why?" I asked.

"For afore stated reasons," she said, crisply, and took a bite of her ooey-gooey grilled cheese.

I glared at her. "Fun-sucker."

She beamed. "Ain't it great?"

"Nope."

She just laughed.

* * *

Meg was sitting on a chair in the corner of Draco's lab, surrounded by books about charms. She was absorbed in them, and didn't pay much attention to us.

My body went through the motions of preparing the potion with Draco, but my mind was elsewhere. I'm sure, had Draco known, I would have been rebuked. He'd probably accuse me of trying to poison him.

But, luckily for Draco, my parentage kept me from making mistakes—I didn't really have to concentrate, even though the potion was pretty complex.

My mind wandered from subject to subject.

First, I considered my father's prophesy. I still didn't like the thought of leaving them for so long, and traveling to some parallel dimension. Maybe it wasn't even parallel. But if it's not parallel, that means that at some point, maybe a place or maybe a time, the two dimensions would have to intersect. My thoughts spiraled, and I realized that I was probably over thinking the whole thing.

I moved to the next subject—Meg. Meg and her refusal to tell me things.

I was irked—when I asked for something (which wasn't often) I got it. It sounded bratty when I put it that way, but it was true. And she was doing it under the pretenses that she was helping me! What was wrong with this picture?

Figuring I was just going to annoy myself further, I moved on to the third thing that was bothering me.

Draco.

Something about the way he moved while he was so absorbed in making the potion drew my eyes to him.

Every casual flick of the wrist as he dropped ingredients into the cauldron caught my attention. Every time he pushed his hair out of his eyes, my eyes followed his fingers on their path.

It seemed…familiar. Something I'd liked in someone else.

"I don't want this!" I hissed under my breath, and tried to position myself so I couldn't see him as well. I tried to focus on the potions, but it was like everything was just muscle memory, and my mind refused to concentrate.

"I'm going to take a break, okay?" I said, after several minutes of agony.

Draco just nodded, not even looking up. I wasn't sure if I was happy, or upset.

I'm happy, I informed myself sternly. I don't like Draco, even as a friend! He's just…a colleague.

As I walked out the door, Meg called to me. "Patricia? Could you get my bag from my room? I need a pencil from there…"

"Yeah, sure," I said, and then continued out of the room. I wondered why she didn't just use one of Draco's quills, rather than the pencil.

I let my feet just guide me, taking me where they would. I worked on memorizing every aspect of the house—why, I wasn't sure. It was something to do, I guess.

I reached my room first. I needed some time before I went back into that room. It seemed to shrink with both of us inside. Throw Meg in there, with all her books, and I was suffocated.

I sat on my windowsill, with my feet dangling outside. The cool air brushed against my skin, relaxing me. I liked the outdoor air, especially at night. It was just the right temperature.

I started to breathe easier, and tried to remember something. I hadn't really tried to remember things before that, per se. I was still at a loss of how to remember. So I tried…

And failed. There was still nothing, no stirring of memory. I tapped my head, at the temple. I'd heard that by tapping my head, I shook the wrinkles on my brain, and remembered more things. It still didn't work.

Come on, I thought. Give me something!

And something _did_ come. A feeling of comfort, confusion, and irritation. A strange mix of emotions. Someone whispered something against my lips, but I couldn't capture what he said…

And that was all.

* * *

The Journal of Patricia Edwards:

July 3, 2000

I'm gaining better perspective of Meg day by day. Okay, so I've only really known her for about three days, but that's beside the point. And I didn't really have a perspective of her in the first place…but I am learning about her! Soon, I might be able to tell her some things, too.

I don't really have much to say, but I found this in her room. Not that I was snooping! She asked me to go get something for her, and I happened to notice it.

:A Clipping from Patricia's Journal:

Mom,

So much has changed! Remember how I said something felt like it was missing? And how Patricia and I decided that it was obliviation? Mine has finally worn off! I remember **everything**. I'm insanely happy! It's like I've fallen in love all over again, and I'm reliving all the bliss! Well, the heartache, too. I'm afraid he doesn't feel the same.

He did leave, after all. I'm pretty sure he didn't want to leave, though. Since I got my memories back, I can remember every moment spent with him. I remember the last moment, too. He had this stricken look on his face; he was absolutely miserable. Even though I was upset that he was allowing my obliviation, I forgave him. I saw the look, and I knew his heart wasn't in it. Really, I wanted to take the look away. I'd rather him betray me than for him to be miserable.

Anyway, Draco and Patricia were working on a potion this afternoon (yuck!). Since I'm awful at potions, I spent the morning helping the house elves, and then went and did research in the library. I was reading a book on charms, trying to see if I could learn anything about memory charms. Turns out that the shinobi only performed a selective obliviation on us, which basically means they just put a bunch of holes in our memory, rather than just erasing our entire memory.

The way to break this charm is easy—all you need is a visual or a sound to jar one's memory. I guess I'm Exhibit A, in this case.

Even so, I'm pretty sure that it's not limited to that. I'm going to read some more books, so I'll know soon, but Draco's veritaserum idea, if I understand the properties of the potion right, should work. I guess I'll be the one asking the questions, since Patricia doesn't remember yet. I have a feeling it won't be long until she comes up with something—she's smart. Beyond that, she's got **something.** I'm not sure what it is, but it reminds me of the 'Bonus Features' menu on a DVD. It's like she's almost **too** perfect…

Speaking of DVDs and other Muggle items, I really miss showers. I **fainted** in the bath today…very embarrassing. I blame it on a splitting headache I got when the memories came rushing back in.

So, I bet you're happy to see Dad again! I was pretty upset when he died, but looking back, I'm glad that you guys are together. I do wish I could be with you, though. Or that you were here—either one would be just fine with me. I would be even happier than I am now—if that's possible. And I'm not sure it is… But I really do miss you. Both of you. A lot.

What about Husband numero uno? I'm still pretty pissed at him. I'm glad you found Dad later in life—he's a much better guy. Do you ever miss my brother? Or is he there, too? I wonder about him, sometimes. You know, you'd always say I was too young to understand about my brother and that'd you tell me when I was older. You never told me… Maybe you were trying to. I don't know. And now I never will…He was my twin, Mom. I can't believe you never told me!

But I promised not to get mad at you…Sorry.

They sold our house, Mom. I'm living jobless on the streets! Well, not really. Jobless in the Malfoy Manor. Yep, his family actually calls it that! I don't know what Draco calls it—he seemed pretty sarcastic when he introduced it to us like that. It's pretty obvious that he hates this place. I'm pretty sure I would, too. It's just so…lacking. Lacking in warmth, life, and love…

Speaking of warmth, life, and love, I never told Mrs. Weasley I wasn't coming over this summer! Crap! I better do that…

Bye! I love you!

Meg

:End Clipping:

I guess she writes to her mom, even though she's gone on. That's really sweet. It's incredible in another way, too. It's like she's really writing a letter that she's going to send…Like her mom is still here.

So. A selective memory charm…an interesting concept. It must take a lot of skill to perfect. I can see the benefits of using it rather than wiping a mind completely blank, seeing as it'd be much less obvious for a whole school to vaguely remember last year than it'd be for a whole school to be completely clueless.

There are a few things about what she wrote that I don't get—like 'shinobi'. I'm not sure what that is, or who they are. The people who erased our memories, I guess.

But were they friend or foe? I still don't remember, or even have any feelings about this bit yet.

She's figured some things about me out, too. Bonus features…she's captured the truth so clearly, but I'm glad she hasn't figured it out yet. I have a feeling that Draco wouldn't be so keen on keeping me in his house if he knew. I think Meg would accept it, but Draco…Hmm…

It really hurts me to acknowledge that he wouldn't like it. I know that's ridiculous, because he probably won't ever like me back.

Not that it matters, because I DON'T LIKE HIM!!

Anyway.

I knew Meg's parents had died, but I never knew she had a brother! A twin brother, even! I'm really interested to find out more about him. The letter doesn't say he's dead, but she's obviously never seen him, which leads me to believe that he was taken away, either by her mother's first husband, or by someone who had no right to him.

Which makes me wonder…is the first husband her father? It would make a bit more sense, then, if he had her twin brother. But she refers to him as 'your first husband'. That makes it seem as though she wants nothing to do with him, perhaps because she does have something to do with him, or maybe because she doesn't. She's always referred to Tom as her father—no, as her dad.

That makes sense. Even if, biologically, Tom isn't her father, he is her dad. The man who actually fathered her (if my theory is correct) never sees her, and thus, she feels no love for him. She may even feel hate. Well, whether or not he is her parent, she does hate him.

Ugh, I think that's it for today's journal entry. I'm tired…and tomorrow I face Draco…

* * *

You would not believe how hard it was to finish this chapter and not just go take a nap! I'm really tired today. That's actually why it's so short. But I wanted to finish this…so merry Christmas! (yes, I know it's almost June. My birthday is next week)

Drop a review, please!

Respectfully yours,

IBG-chan

P.S. Please check out _X Why Love Hurts_! I need more reviews before I start posting more! I'm not too fond of GaaIno, either, but Ino is totally different in this story. Almost loveable.


	7. Ch5: To Invade Her Privacy

**Sorry it's been so long, but I've been out of town. And I have about 700 unread e-mails…I think my e-mail is just freaking out, cuz I've seen most of them before. I'll read them later. I'm so dedicated…:) Anyway, here is Chapter five! Thank you to the few people who reviewed. Especially Stephy-chan. She always makes me like the story again…:) In fact...I dedicate this chapter to you! I hope no one thinks it's crap...I tried my hardest!!**

**As for the song…Honestly, I was listening to Flyleaf while I wrote this. Not that it really relates…but if you haven't heard the DVD version acoustic versions, you need to! They are amazing!!**

**Maybe Crushcrushcrush by Paramore? I dunno. The music itself fits the chapter…some lines relate. So yeah…that's the winner!!**

* * *

**Chapter 5 – To Invade Her Privacy**

* * *

Patricia and Draco were up in his potions room, working on the veritaserum. I'd brought a few books in there to start reading, but had left after a while. They were about ten days into the making of the potions, and apparently, this was a very critical time. (Like **I** knew.) Claiming that I would distract them, they politely asked me to leave. I didn't mind. For one thing, I disliked how the ingredients smelled, together or apart. Also, I needed fresh materials. I had run into a dead end, and decided I needed a new perspective.

The Malfoys had a large section on charms, although I'd always thought that wasn't their style. Although, the library seemed to be endless, and in comparison, this section was rather small.

I searched through the books, occasionally picking up a book and leafing through it. There were only a few that focused directly on memory charms, but most other books had a section in them pertaining to obliviation, among other memory charms.

A book caught my eye—Charms and the Preternatural. I wasn't sure why I wanted to read it, but I pulled it out anyway. I flipped to the index, searching for obliviation. Locating the page number quickly, I turned to the section.

The book had listings of several preternatural creatures—no, beings, I corrected myself firmly—and the effect that memory charms had on them.

Basilisks, faeries, gnomes, pixies, trolls, unicorns, vampires, werewolves…

I stopped, and looked back at the entry on vampires.

_When a memory charm is placed on a vampire, they will be mostly unaffected. They may temporarily have short-term memory loss, which could be considered worse than just a selective memory charm. Even so, they will eventually regain all their memories, even the ones most recently forgotten._

_On the other hand, their progeny would not be so lucky, especially when they have interbred. _

_For example, a half-human, half-vampire would lose the memories completely, but over time, regain feelings, smell, sound, and feelings of touch from memories. If words were spoken, he or she most likely would be unable to make them out._

_Without assistance, the memories would never be regained._

I turned the page, looking for more on what this 'assistance' might be. I was disappointed—the entry on werewolves started on the next page. I shrugged. Oh well, I thought. It didn't really matter, anyway. It wasn't really related to what I was looking for.

It was interesting, though, so I put a bookmark in the book, and set it on a nearby table. I would read more later.

I returned to the aisle, and started looking again. Eventually, I climbed the ladder, to look at books on the top shelf.

I pushed myself along slowly, stopping every now and again to look a book that had caught my interest.

After awhile, I glanced at my watch. In doing so, I moved the ladder to the right a bit. I grabbed the shelf reflexively, closely preventing a tumble down the ladder. After catching my breath, I looked back up at the books. In moving the ladder, I'd left the section on memory charms, and entered one on preternatural beings.

The title Half-Human glared out at me. With still trembling fingers, I released the bookshelf, and reached for the book…

And then stopped.

What was I doing? People who were only half human were completely unrelated to our dilemma. I was being ridiculous.

Still, my intuition was spiked, and it told my brain to shut up and just take the book. Sighing, I reached for it again, and slowly climbed down the ladder, clutching it tight to my chest.

I walked towards the table with the other books I'd selected, and then sat down in one of the comfy chairs around the table.

I opened the book to the index, and started to search for vampires. Discovering it easily, I turned to the page indicated in the index. "When a vampire interacts with a human," it began…

…_the relationship often doesn't last long, especially if the human is fully drained. Vampires may make exceptions, to keep a human familiar around all the time. On occasion, the vampire may actually fall in love with the human familiar. When this is the case, the couple might get married and have a child. There has never been a report of more than one child; perhaps because of the stress bloodletting induces on the human, especially females._

_The child of the couple is very volatile. He is often considered beautiful and graceful. He is pale, with platinum blonde hair, almost white, and has gray eyes with yellow flecks. He tends to keep to himself, interacting with others only when he has to. On such an occasion, he will be short and to the point. _

_The child will be uncomfortable in most situations, because of his lack of social aptitude. Also, his mood will often change, and he might be set off by the slightest thing, and throw a fit._

_Furthermore, it is hard for him to find the right temperature. Where most humans would be comfortable, he might be hot, or cold, depending on which parent is more dominant in his features._

_As for the effect of spells, when a memory charm is placed on the progeny of a vampire, he would lose the memories completely, but over time, regain feelings, smell, sound, and feelings of touch from memories. If words were spoken, he or she most likely would be unable to make them out._

_Without assistance, the memories would never be regained (From _Charms and the Preternatural_). _

'_Assistance', as it is so tactfully termed, is the biggest taboo in the Vampire world. It wouldn't be good to give anyone any ideas, so this anthology won't be explaining it._

The entry went on a bit more, but again, 'assistance' wasn't explained. But I'd found what I'd been subconsciously looking for.

That was it. Patricia had a parent who was a vampire. She didn't want us to know, naturally, because many—Draco probably included—would look down on her. I thought it was kind of cool, but most people wouldn't.

I realized that I was being silly, and shook my head, as if to clear it. Patricia wasn't half-vamp. I was just jumping to conclusions. So what if she had some weird qualities? Granted, the book had described her features perfectly, down to the gray eyes with golden flecks, which I had never really thought about before. They were pretty, and unnatural, I supposed. But not _preternatural_. That was crazy talk.

I got up and left the library before I could come up with some other crazy theory. A vampire, I thought, shaking my head.

I walked towards my room, passing the lab as I did so. Patricia saw me, and called, "Meg? Could you go fetch my wand? I think I left it on my nightstand by accident."

Weird…but okay. Whatever. "Sure. I was headed that way anyway."

"Thanks."

I nodded and continued on my way. There had been nothing unhuman about that interaction. I chided myself for making up fantasies again.

I arrived at her room, and, sure enough, there was her wand. I stepped over to it, picking it up, careful to point it away from myself.

As I started back for the door, I realized that my foot was caught in the strap of a bag. It had fallen open, and a book had slipped out. I sighed, and knelt down to move the bag to a more convenient place, setting the book down briefly while I set the bag closer to her bed. When I turned back to the book, I noticed a slip of paper, very familiar looking, sticking out of the book.

My eyes narrowed. Paper. Why would Patricia have paper? She used parchment—I'd seen her writing while we were here. I was the only one who used paper, a muggle product through and through.

Knowing very well that I was prying, I opened the book to the page with the paper stuck in it. Patricia's willowy handwriting covered the pages, but I recognized the writing I could see through the folded paper as mine.

I took the paper out and unfolded it. My mouth dropped open as I realized it was a letter. The letter I'd written to my mom about ten days ago. I'd never burned it! I must have forgotten in my haste to write to Mrs. Weasley.

Angry, I started to rise, intending to march over to Patricia and demand an explanation.

But then a thought occurred to me. If she invaded my privacy, I would invade hers. Then I would yell at her.

I flipped to first page, and started reading.

By the time I was finished, I knew that I was at least half right about the vampire thing—she was only half human, and she trusted me not to look down on her.

My heart twisted though, when I read about Draco. That wasn't right—Sai was meant for her. But she couldn't remember Sai, and she was only attracted to Draco because he had some of the same mannerisms.

I stood again, clutching her journal and wand, and headed back to the lab.

She was coming out the door, looking a bit upset. She relaxed when she saw me, smiling. "Oh, there you are! I was wondering if you'd gotten lost, or…" The smile faded off her face as she saw my livid expression. She faltered. "Meg? Is everything okay?"

I continued to glare at her stonily. "We need to talk," I hissed. I spun on my heel and stormed back down the hall towards our rooms.

I heard her light footsteps as she rushed to catch up with me. She tried to question me as we practically flew down the hall. "What is it? What did I do?"

I ignored her. The floodgates would be opened soon enough. Upon arriving at her room, I thrust the door open. The knob smacked against the wall with a crack. Patricia grimaced. I stood aside, indicating that she should enter first. Warily, She stepped inside. I slammed the door behind myself, and thrust her wand at her.

She caught it easily. If she hadn't looked worried before, she definitely did now. "What? Are we dueling? Meg, please, tell me what I did to offend you—"

I raised my wand, cutting her off short. As I opened my mouth to speak, and started to wave my wand, I saw her flinch and close her eyes. A natural reaction, albeit a useless one.

"_Muflato_."

The word, in my flat, lifeless voice surprised her, and here eyes slowly opened. "_Muflato_?" she repeated in confusion.

I gave her a look, and she took her cue to shut up.

"Please," I said, "Sit."

She obeyed quickly, obviously having assessed the situation enough to know that I was angry enough to hurt her if she didn't do what I asked. Well, commanded. But that word is so harsh…

I closed my eyes, and began to pace, measuring my breath carefully. I stopped pacing, and, still with my eyes closed, asked, "Am I to understand that you feel as though everything you come across is yours?" A rather roundabout question, but it was a good starting place.

She opened her mouth and began to speak, but I held up a hand. "Ah, ah. No talking." I opened my eyes and turned to glare at her. "Behold," I said dryly, "Exhibit A." I opened her journal to the page where my letter was pressed. "You. Took. My. Letter," I said, making each word it's own sentence. Uncomfortably, she shifted. "YOU TOOK MY LETTER!!" I yelled, no longer appearing calm. Call 911, the dams have broken. "WHAT GAVE YOU THE RIGHT, EH?"

She started to speak again, but I cut her off. "You just happened to come across it, right? RIGHT? IT NEVER OCCURRED TO YOU THAT, MAYBE, JUST MAYBE…maybe I didn't want you to know about it. Maybe I didn't want anyone to ever read that." I'd run out of steam. Sort of. I was still angry, but some things…you just didn't yell about. Even if you'd put a muffling charm on the room.

Instead, my voice was now dangerously low. "Privacy is **very** important to me. This letter…should have been destroyed. But now…you know too much." I whipped my wand out, pointing it at her. Of course, I wasn't going to curse her, at least not badly. But she could think what she wanted to.

Timidly, she raised her hand. I wasn't one hundred percent sure about the whole idea of cursing her, so I rolled my eyes and said, "Yes…Patricia."

"I—well, you've obviously read my journal…" she began.

"But only because I saw my paper in it," I inserted.

"Yes, but didn't you sort of do the same thing? Invading my privacy and such?"

"Of course not." Duh. "See, here's what happened. I saw muggle paper—ergo, not parchment—sticking out of your journal. I knew that both you and Draco—" a look on her face told me she liked that phrase too much "—use parchment. I'm the only one who prefers notebook paper and printing paper. So, I hypothesized that you had taken something of mine. Possibly just a sheet of paper, but that didn't really make sense; you could have borrowed some from Draco. So I opened to the page where the paper was inserted, and looked only at the paper. I didn't even open the paper until I made sure that it was my handwriting I could see through it. Then I read it."

"But then you read my journal."

"Yep."

She gave me a look. "Well, isn't that somewhat hypocritical?"

I smiled. "On the contrary. It's somewhat like a Hammurabi code (1). You know, an eye for an eye, so on, so forth. Well, you break into my privacy, I'll break into yours. Not hypocritical…I like to think of it as justice." I smiled, pleased with myself for coming up with such a good argument.

"But—"

"Look, in simpler terms, if you know my deepest secrets, I want to know yours. Got it?"

"Oh." She paused before adding, "But what are your deepest secrets?"

I looked at her in disbelief. "What do you mean? You know two of them, and guessed the third."

She continued to stare at me blankly. Maybe she wasn't as smart as I'd given her credit for. I sighed and opened her journal. "To quote you directly: 'I guess she still writes to her mom, even though she's gone on.' Bingo, secret number one." I searched quickly for the next one. "Secret number two: 'I knew Meg's parents had died, but I never knew she had a brother. A twin brother, even!' And here's what bugs me the most," I continued. "You knew right away…

'Which makes me wonder…is the first husband her father? It would make a bit more sense, then, if he had her twin brother. But she refers to him as 'your first husband'. That makes it seem as though she wants nothing to do with him, perhaps because she does have something to do with him, or maybe because she doesn't. She's always referred to Tom as her father—no, as her dad.

That makes sense. Even if, biologically, Tom isn't her father, he is her dad. The man who actually fathered her (if my theory is correct) never sees her, and thus, she feels no love for him. She may even feel hate. Well, whether or not he is her parent, she does hate him.'

"You know how much it sucks to have my secret out there in the open like that? Is it really so obvious?" I ran a hand through my hair. "I like to think it's not. But you tell me." I waited for her to answer me, but she said nothing. I sighed and continued, "Yeah, Tom was my adoptive father. My biological father has my twin brother back in wherever he is. That or my brother is with his family. Maybe the sperm donor is dead. I don't know, and I really don't care. He's dead to me, and that's good enough."

"But the ministry guard—he accepted what you said without question. That  
Tom was your father."

I laughed without humor. "You miss nothing, do you, Patricia?" She blushed in response, but said nothing, so I plunged ahead. "The answer is simple: by ministry records, Tom is my biological father. He had connections. He had the year of my birth changed, so no one would know that my mom was married to someone else at the time of my birth. No one knew.

"I like to tell people that I'm Hogwarts one mistake. My letter came when I was twelve; I knew this. But Hogwarts didn't. By their records, I was eleven. Ask anyone from Hogwarts or the Ministry, and he'll tell you that I'm eighteen. The truth is, though, I'm nineteen. Actually, my birthday was about ten days ago…July 3. The date of this entry, actually."

"Wait, seriously? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know. Birthdays have never been a big deal to me. It just reminds me of my brother, so I try not to think about it.

"Anyway, the only mistake that was made was made by my dad. By Tom." I shrugged. "I'm okay with it, though. I'd rather that Tom was my father. I'd rather that the records were true."

"But…that's awful! Your birth is covered by a lie!"

I looked at her, and saw a little girl who was trying to understand things that were too big for her. This was so strange for me. Before, it had always been the other way around—people saw me as the little girl. But now… I had experience where she had none—lies about my birth.

Well, that wasn't quite true. "I guess. But yours is, too."

She stared at me in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, as far as anyone knows, you're completely human. But that's not really right, is it?"

She sighed and deflated visibly. "No, it's not."

"Do I have to guess?" I asked. "Because I think I have a good guess."

"Go for it," she said unenthusiastically.

"Let's see…Your mom is a human, and your dad is a vampire."

If she was stunned before, now she was paralyzed. "How…do…you…know that?" she choked out.

"I was right? Sweet."

"Is it that obvious?" she asked hopelessly.

"Eh, maybe, maybe not. Given the right material, I can figure anything out. So it probably wouldn't be obvious to anyone who wasn't close to you. Oh! Come on. I have a few questions for you…" I grabbed her hand and started to pull the door open, but I paused, my hand on the doorknob.

"One more thing?" she guessed.

I nodded, but hesitated before saying anything. I had a feeling that this might be crossing a line.

She seemed to know what I was thinking, though. "Draco?" I nodded. "I don't know, and trust me, I don't like it. But there's something familiar about him, something comforting. It's in how he moves. I—" She stopped, taking a breath before she started to speak again. "I can't help it."

I nodded sympathetically. "I think I can help you. To remember, I mean. I found something in the library, but it's not making sense. I need you to help me understand."

I removed the silencing charm, and opened the door.

* * *

Patricia looked up from the books, her face ashen. "I think…" she began, "I think my father may need to bite me."

In confusion I blurted the first thing that popped into my head. "What?" Very eloquent.

"Well, in the second book, it says that assistance is the biggest taboo in the vampire world. As far as I know, it's a huge taboo to feed on a half-vampire. It's like half-cannibalism. Can you imagine? Any vampire who tried it would be **shunned**, seriously ostracized, if people—no, if vampires—found out that he'd drank the blood of someone who was only half-human. Even more so if it was his child."

"Harsh," I said.

"Yeah, well, that's how it is. Vampires tend to keep to themselves, but there is an underlying sort of society."

"Would your father bite you?"

"I don't know. He's more reclusive than most vampires, so it may not matter to him that he's being ignored. He hasn't left his home in nearly twenty years. Most vampires don't do that—they go out, sometimes in groups, to catch a foolish human to eat."

"Eat?" I repeated.

"I know; it's a mean word. But that's pretty much what they do. Anyway, my dad doesn't have to do that, since he's got a human familiar. My mom. They've been together for like…twenty years. But they were going cross-country for the first two years or so. Then I came along." I smiled at her. "They decided to settle down, out in Wales. Near the Fawr Valley. A very nice place really," I reminisced.

"I'm sure," she inserted virtuously. "But the question is whether or not he'd bite you. And if he would, how long, how much would he have to drink? **I **don't have experience with this…"

"Yeah, well, neither do I," she pointed out.

"Time to do some homework," I said with a smile, returning to my favorite little aisle.

* * *

(With Sasuke)

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Sasuke grimaced, irritated with the repetitiveness of this cell. It was dark, which he didn't mind, but it was also damp.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

He was used to being underground, having lived with Orochimaru all those years. He was used to the dark, to the damp.

That didn't mean he had to like it.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

If anything, it only reminded him of his dark years, when he was obsessed with gaining more power. He'd have stooped to any level at that point, if only he could kill Itachi.

Hindsight 20, 20, as the saying goes. He could see now, that he could be avoiding this situation. He could see every mistake he'd ever made. Mistakes like leaving Sakura on that bench, like betraying Naruto and Kakashi. Betraying Konoha.

All in the name of killing Itachi.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Well, it didn't matter now. He might have the power to kill Itachi—he doubted it—but he was stuck here in prison.

He wished he could hurt someone. Taking it out on someone else would probably make him feel better.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Probably.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Or would he just regret that in the future, too?

* * *

(With Karin)

Unlike Sasuke, who was filled with regret and irritation—two feelings she knew were his default—Karin was just grateful to be alive.

Although she'd never betrayed Konoha, and wasn't from there, the blade cut two ways.

For Sasuke, the traitor, Konoha felt a sort of nostalgic sympathy. He would not be killed. He would merely be held captive, for they could not totally forgive him for betraying them.

For Karin, an outsider, there was no anger at betraying them. But she was not one of them. It would cause no one pain to see her simply killed.

Yet she was alive.

And for this, she rejoiced.

She didn't mind the dampness, but rather reveled in the ability to feel it. At least I'm alive to feel the humidity, she told herself sternly.

She didn't mind the dark, which, at first, had taken away her ability to see. Now she could see shadows, guards crouched menacingly at her door. At least I'm alive to be menaced, she reminded herself.

She didn't mind the repetitive drips. At least I'm alive to hear them.

And so, she was content.

Except…

She worried about Sasuke. He wouldn't stand this for long, she knew. He was already frustrated (when was he not?), and soon he'd be angry. (She was surprised it hadn't happened already.) Soon, he'd attempt a breakout, and then they'd be in **real** trouble.

It was only a question of when it would happen. She waited, relaxing each morning as the sun came up. Sasuke was reckless, for sure, but he was smart enough to know that night was the time to breakout.

So during the day, she tried to sleep. She tried to imagine herself when she and Sasuke were finally released—or however they would get out. It was hard to picture Sasuke as anything but angry, or completely stressed. Even as he'd kissed her the last time, his muscles were tensed, not relaxed, the way they should have been when she kissed him back.

She wondered if they were truly meant for each other. He was so distant, so cold. Would he ever completely settle into the life of someone who actually felt happy? Someone who was in love?

Somehow, she doubted it.

The only thing I can do, she decided, is love him anyway. I'm not letting him get away just because there's a little obstacle in my way.

Night fell, and along with it, came silence. People packed up from the market, and went home. They went to bed.

All, that is, but Karin, and the omnipresent ANBU. Karin was awake, tensed. This was the time that Sasuke would try to make his escape. If he tried to escape, that is. She hoped he wouldn't.

Her hopes were dashed, though, as she heard a scuffle outside of the cell next to hers. Her ANBU guard left his post to help fight whoever it was (pleasepleaseplease not Sasuke, she thought).

It wasn't. It was worse. It was _Suigetsu_.

"We _have_ to take her?" A whining voice. Karin hated that voice, hated the person, if one could call him that, who owned it.

"Yes. She's my partner in crime, after all," came Sasuke's silky voice.

She sighed, getting up. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this," she muttered under her breath. But when the cell opened, revealing Sasuke and Suigetsu, she followed after them.

Because, no matter what she believed, her love for Sasuke made her forget.

She wasn't letting him get away.

* * *

**Confused? You should be. Sasuke's acting irrationally (big surprise). One second regretting betraying Konoha, the next he's at it again. Something's up here...**

**Drop a review!**

**Respectfully yours,**

**IBG-chan**

**p.s. Time for excuses. I'll busy next week with a summer camp, so I won't be able to write as much. Beyond that, I have to have my birthday party--er, gathering, since mom says i'm too old for birthday parties--****sometime (probably this week...maybe next week.). Also, I've decided to be an overacheiver (as usual) and study chemistry and physics over the summer. I'm doing it independantly, so there's no rigid schedule, but I do want to work on them a little bit. So sometimes, that may take precedence over what I write. Next I'll tackle geometry. Yeah, i'm really glad to be out of that class (I made a 164 last nine weeks...i don't know how, but i'm good with it), but i also dont' want to forget anything. I'm going into pre-cal next year, and that will doubtless be stressful if i don't remember what i'm supposed to. I'll also have to review algebra... man, i sound like i'm some stereotypical asian...ahahaha, i'm not. But I do what i have to. Which is study. And in August, i'll of course be reading Breaking Dawn, (don't fret, this will only take a day or two) but i'll also be attending Band Camp. And i'm supposed to have my music memorized beforehand, so i'll need to practice.**

**It's a good thing none of you know where i live...you might come eat me...i just gave you practically my whole schedule.**

**p.p.s. REVIEW!!**


	8. Interlude: To Betray

Thanks for reviewing, and thank you to Stephy-chan, who actually PMed me that she wouldn't be able to read last chapter for a while, because she was going out of town. That was really nice. :D

* * *

****

**Interlude – To Betray…**

* * *

His footsteps echoed across the silent village. Two others followed him silently, their feet not making a sound as they hit the ground.

There was something threatening in the way the loud one walked. He was cocky, and his arms swung freely. All things considered, he had good reason to be cocky. He'd just busted his friends out of the prison, and he did have a rather large sword strapped on his back.

The two walking behind him, were much more subdued, though they were still confident. The man's gaze was cold, glaring at the man walking so loudly in front of him. The woman just watched the man next to her, wanting so bad to ask him what his plan was, but she restrained herself, and contented herself by holding his hand.

"Suigetsu," he said finally. "Can you be quiet?"

Suigetsu turned and chuckled. "Why so worried? Might as well start the betrayal now."

"You're going to take down an entire village of ninjas? There are only three of us. Don't be ridiculous."

Suigetsu shrugged. "I thought you had some master plan."

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, but it involves not getting myself killed."

"Lighten up, Sasuke! No one is even awake."

Before the last word was out of his mouth, someone jumped down from the roof, landing silently. The woman, Karin, had sensed her watching them, and she was fairly certain Sasuke had, too, but he'd squeezed her hand, as if to tell her not to say anything to Suigetsu. It was important that he didn't know that she was following them. She stayed silent, confused, but willing to do what Sasuke asked.

Suigetsu continued, "I've been waiting for you to take Orochimaru down, just so I could break out. Everything was just like you said: security was nonexistent, and it was easy to get out. And you did get put in prison! Incredible. I'm surprised you didn't get a hero's welcome! That would only have made your second betrayal so much sweeter. No doubt about it, they expect you to betray them, so they'll spill no tears when they find out it was you."

Zenaku slid down Sasuke's arm, wrapping her body around Karin's wrist, but still holding onto Sasuke's wrist, too. Binding them together.

Karin didn't react, schooling her face and body. Suigetsu couldn't look back, not now. That would ruin everything.

At least, that's what she'd picked up from Sasuke. She didn't understand what his plan was right now, so she just followed her instincts.

She wondered if her instincts were really just her desire to have Suigetsu out of her life. She considered it, and then decided she didn't care. Either way, he'd be gone.

And then she felt bad for thinking that. She glanced at Sasuke. His face was stony, obviously irritated by Suigetsu's incessant chatter.

And then there were more. These, Suigetsu knew about. They were all around them, in front of Suigetsu, next to him, all over the place.

Suigetsu suddenly looked nervous, and whirled to face Sasuke. "I hate it when you're right!" He cursed under his breath, and then added, "What are we going to do?"

Sasuke just looked at him. "Get out alive."

Karin's eyes darted around the group of shinobi surrounding them. The Konoha 11 surrounded them. She knew there was no way they could survive. They were done for.

Anxiously, she looked at Sasuke, and he tried to signal something to her with his eyes, but she couldn't decipher it.

Gently, he took his hand away, Zenaku sliding back up his sleeve.

The shinobi sprung into action, flying at the three rogues.

* * *

(Juugo)

Juugo watched her sleep. She was perfect. Beautiful. Her wedding was soon… Was it really next week? She was so young, only 21. Not that he could discredit her. As a kunoichi, she could die any day. He himself had died at 17. Why not her?

He pulled himself away from such a morose train of thought. He chose instead to try and picture her with Haku, the perfect picture of happiness. Even now, she smiled in her sleep, as though she knew what Juugo was thinking of.

He grimaced, and erased that thought from his mind.

It wasn't that he didn't want her to be happy; it was just that he wished she was happy with him. It would hurt so much to watch her with Haku… it was hard now. It'd be harder when they were married.

He knew that he didn't have to move on with time. He could freeze, going back, over and over, watching her life up until they took the vows. He'd never have to watch someone he loved run into the arms of someone else… He could. He could do anything, now.

He knew this was wrong, that this was cowardly. He was too attached to her. He needed to move on.

And yet…

She had a hold on him. She didn't know it, and perhaps never would, but he felt so torn when he left her, so lost. Like he was no longer himself, no longer complete. He felt like she was his air, his oxygen.

Without her, he was asphyxiated (1).

And so he clutched the last lifeline, and knew then, he'd never let go of her. He'd waste away his existence just repeating her life over and over again, an unending eternity of her.

He thought that the idea of being with her forever should have been more appealing, but he only felt more lost than before.

* * *

(Temari)

Well, I think, the dress isn't bad.

It's a pale yellow, and falls way down to my ankles. It's tight at the waist, and poofs out, for lack of a better description. No doubt, Usagi wouldn't appreciate how I describe it, but it's not like I wasted my time learning what to call the style of my dress.

It's not something I would have bought, had there not been a wedding where I was forced to be a bridesmaid. But looking at myself in the mirror, I'm glad that I get to wear it. It fits me well, and suits my personality.

Well, maybe not. I'm not exactly the type to dance through sunflower fields.

Still, it does look good on me. I smile, and touch my hair, wondering how I'll have to get it done. I glance at my nails, and wonder how Usagi will force me to get them done. French manicure, or a regular one—like I know that terminology; fashion isn't a big thing to me—that was the question. Would she pick out a pattern and a color, so all the bridesmaids would match?

Probably.

She's been increasingly more obsessed with her wedding as of late. Maybe because it's so close, but I don't really know.

She comes into the room where I'm standing, looking at myself. She stands next to me, and smiles. "You look fabulous."

"Thanks," I say with a smile. "You picked a good dress. It's one anyone could look good in."

"That's what I thought when I picked it," she says proudly. "But I think yellow is your color."

I shake my head. "Yellow is too soft."

"Of course. You're a tough little alley cat; how could I forget?" she says sarcastically.

I glare at her.

She smiles innocently, and instead starts to play with my hair. "I need a style that will look good on all my bridesmaids… You all have different hair lengths, so I'm thinking it should be something simple. No elaborate curls for you guys… What do you think?"

"Um." She's caught me off guard, and I stumble for an answer. "I'm good with anything that doesn't take hours to do."

"Good answer," she says, smiling at me in the mirror, over my shoulder. "Anyway, I'm going to send in Saya, and she'll see if we need to change anything. I think it looks perfect, but you know how seamstresses freak out."

"Yep," I say, but I'm not thinking about seamstresses, or even the dress anymore. My thoughts have taken off to another place.

The place they weren't allowed to be.

They involved a certain best man…

I shut my eyes. NOT ALLOWED, NOT ALLOWED, NOT ALLOWED!!

* * *

White.

And for a split second, it's black. And then white again.

Oh, I realize. I'm blinking. Weird.

My next realization: I'm not dead. Hmmm…

I want to sink back into unconsciousness. Why is the room white? Always white. Too white. The kind of white that makes your eyes hurt. I close mine, but the white has imprinted on my eyes, and instead of black, I see green.

I open my eyes to glare at the offending wall. Someone should turn the lights off. I try to get up to turn the lights off, but I can't. I realize that wires are sticking all over me. A snake rests on my lap. My foot is in a cast, hanging above my bed.

Oh.

A door opens, and my head snaps towards it. While my eyes are on the way, I see another bed, between my own and the door.

I don't know who's in the bed; they're covered with casts and bandages. I don't focus on it, and look again at the door.

The medic—I know her name, I know her name, I know it—walks over to me. "Oh, good, you're awake. How are you feeling? That was a pretty tough fight back there."

I realize that I don't know how to talk. I can't remember.

"Are you going to answer me?" she asks teasingly.

I look at her, the agony clear on my face.

"Can you answer me?"

I shake my head. I remember that much, at least.

She looks at me carefully. "Do you remember my name?"

I shake my head.

"Do you remember your name?"

I think hard. What's my name, what's my name, what's my name? I'm panicked, and my heartbeat quickens. I hear it on the monitor.

"You don't, do you?" She sounds worried. Good, we're on the same page.

"Oh, sh—" Her voice cuts off. "I've got to talk to Tsunade about this." She walks to the other bed. "Not awake yet," she murmurs to herself. "Not that we expected him to be…" She heads towards the door. "I'll be back soon. You try to sleep, okay?" She pauses at the doorway. "Do you want me to tell me your name?"

I nod, not even thinking about it.

"Karin. Your name is Karin."

The name holds no familiarity to me. Now I wish I had waited, until I remembered it myself. Waited until I remembered who I was.

Too late for that now…

* * *

**(1) Asphyxiated: suffocated. I learned that from Time Is Running Out by MUSE. Yahhh!!**

**Drop a review, please! Any criticism is welcome.**

**Respectfully yours,**

**IBG-chan**


	9. Ch6: Trying to Remember

****

Due to the fact that I got a really sweet review for my short story on fiction press, I'm quitting fanfiction. This will be the last thing I write. I'm not even finishing this story. It's over.

**Naw, just joshin' ya! I did get a really nice review for fictionpress. Go read my story! It's called 'Basket of Roses'. Please leave an anonymous review, if you don't have an account. If you do, leave a review anyway…I will love you forever. My penname is the same there as it is on here—Invasion of the Band Geeks.**

**Seriously, don't be worried—I have about…fifteen ideas, mostly for fanfiction, but I also have other completed things that I'm going to put on fictionpress. So if you seem to notice fewer updates (not likely, I've updated more in this month than I have in any other month.), it's because I'm working on many things. Except for this story and Harry Potter and the Other Snake Lord, the rest of my fanfiction is crappy. That one is crap, too, but this is a sequel. But I've gotten a lot better since I started writing. So…instead of reading crappy fanfiction that I don't have the heart to delete, go read my fictionpress!**

**That was really long. We're done, now. You can start reading the story.**

**ATTACK – 30 Seconds to Mars (Jared Leto has an ah-mazing voice…:)**

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Trying to Remember**

* * *

(The Journal of Patricia Edwards)

July 31, 2000

Okay, so we've finally found a day that we can go to see my parents. There's nothing to do for the potion today, and Draco is going to Diagon Ally. (1) He won't have to know what we're doing. If I can convince my dad, that is.

I'm thinking he'll be okay with it, he's never asked to bite me, or anything, but I don't think he'd care what anyone would think about him.

Well, I'll write more later.

* * *

"He's gone!" Meg gasped, out of breath from running up the stairs. "We have to move fast—come on!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room; down the stairs; and out the front door.

"Excited?" I asked her as we ran down the walkway towards the gate.

She laughed. "Did you notice? Yes, just a bit."

"A bit?" I repeated in disbelief. We stopped talking, having reached the gate and the ministry guard. It was a different one than (2) had been there when we'd arrived.

"And where would you be headed?" he asked, obviously bored.

"We're going to visit my parents," I told him.

"The vamp—" his words were cut short when I glared at him. He blushed lightly, obviously chagrinned. "I mean… Of course."

I smiled. "Thank you for not holding stupid prejudices against me or my family. It's not like I or my father can control his genetics."

"Genetics? Uh, I mean, of course. Have a nice day," he said, flustered.

Meg did her best not to giggle, but a small chuckle slipped out.

"Toodles," I said to the guard. Cheerfully, I grabbed Meg's hand, and concentrated on the image of my porch back home.

I felt the odd sensation of being jammed into a tube and being pulled through, or maybe pushed. I was unaware of Meg's presence, other than feeling her hand in mine. It was such a long tube…had it been this long before?

And then it was over. We checked ourselves, making sure we'd not splinched. We stood on the porch of my home, the yard overrun, though not so badly as before. I decided to let it alone this time, and instead, turned to the front door.

I opened the door, knocking on it as I did so. "Mum?" I called. "Dad? It's Patricia…I've brought a friend; you don't mind do you?"

"Patricia?" My father's soft voice came from behind us, and we both whirled. He was standing in the yard.

I barely registered the fact that he had broken normal behavior by stepping outside, and not being with my mother. I flew down the steps, rushing into my father's open arms. "Dad!" I cried, burying my face in his chest. "Oh, I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too, dear. But I must admit, this is unexpected." His voice was surprised.

His words pulled me up short. "What do you mean, unexpected? You said I might return." I was suddenly suspicious.

"Oh, of course. It was just looking more and more unlikely," he said, quickly fixing his blunder.

I frowned, and stepped out of his embrace. "Where's mum?"

His face darkened, almost imperceptibly. "She's busy right now. We added a garden in the back yard, did you know? She's working with the turnips, right now."

"Mum hates turnips," I said slowly, watching him carefully. In fact, turnips were her favorite vegetable. But something about him was wrong, and made me want to test him.

"I guess she wanted to try something new," he said simply.

Wrong answer, I thought. "Shouldn't you be inside, father?"

"I'm going inside," he said. "I was just thinking about doing some yard work."

"Oh, really? Why didn't you do it from here?" We'd reached the porch.

"Hmm? What do you mean? You know I can't do magic…"

"What? Of course you can, father," I said innocently. I shot Meg a look. She was standing there, confused, but she followed me back inside.

And then father whirled on us, flying towards me, fangs bared. I brought an arm up to shield my neck, and turned my face away instinctively. He knocked me on the floor.

Meg was shouting something, her wand out. I picked out "What do I do?" from whatever gibberish she was gabbing.

"It's not my dad! Curse him!" I yelled at her. Then I turned my attention back to my attacker.

He was snapping at my neck furiously. I assessed quickly. A vampire, but not a good one. Not quite new, but not seasoned with experience, either. He was wearing my father's appearance like a cloak, but he wasn't in control of his bloodlust.

Also, I realized that he was giving up on my neck and about to nick my arm.

"Oh, sh—" My voice cut off into a scream of pain as his teeth broke my skin. Where was Meg? Shouldn't she have cursed him by now? My eyes searched the room, and I saw her pinned down by a woman vampire. Her fangs were close to Meg.

I had to stop her. Somehow. If Meg were bitten, she'd need a vampire to bite her periodically for the rest of her life.

Or she'd be completely drained, which seemed more likely, since the vamps were newbies. And then no more Meg. Or me, if the vamp didn't quit drinking sometime soon. I would be fine if he quit, and in fact, it was necessary.

I struggled to free myself, but there was no way. His strength was too great for me to even attempt to free myself. But I had too—Meg's life depended on it.

And then the vampire was gone. I saw my dad—and I was pretty sure it was him, this time, throw him across the room, and then knock the girl away from Meg, right before her teeth grazed Meg's neck.

I acted immediately, crossing the room to make sure that no teeth had touched Meg. "Are you okay?" I asked her. She nodded, but her eyes were glued on my father and the rogue vamps.

My father was an older vampire, and more experienced than the other two, so he had the advantage. It was incredible, watching him take them down so easily. His movements were deft, filled with grace. His eyes calculated their weaknesses, and he wasted no time in capitalizing on them.

It was nothing short of breathtaking.

And then there were quick snaps, and he was destroying their bodies. They were taken care of so quickly that it left Meg and I gaping.

Meg found her voice first. "That was better than any martial arts movie I've ever seen."

"Seen a lot of them?" I teased, trying to bring levity to the room.

"A few," she agreed.

My dad returned, and he did not look happy. "WHAT WERE YOU DOING?"

I blinked, and flinched back. I couldn't remember the last time he'd yelled at me. Meg had curled up into the fetal position. She'd obviously had enough of an adventure for today. "Um…visiting my parents?" I chanced.

"YOU KNEW THAT WASN'T ME!!" he yelled.

"I didn't; not at first," I said defensively. "And what was I supposed to do, anyway? Run away? We wouldn't have made it, surely you know that."

"You could have apparated!" he exclaimed, but he was calming down a bit.

"Well…it was a crisis situation, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to concentrate. I'd rather not have left anything important behind."

He breathed out, hearing the logic in my reasoning. "Just be more careful, okay?" His voice had softened back to its normal silky texture.

I agreed, and helped Meg stand up. "Um, Dad, this is Meg. She's the friend I've been staying with." I was careful not to mention Draco, though no doubt, he knew about him.

He smiled at her. "Sorry about that. It's not everyday I get so many…unwelcome visitors…at my home. Please, do not worry." When my Dad isn't angry, he has a very calming effect on people. Meg was smiling as she shook his hand. To me, he said, "Come see your mother." He led us outside, to the backyard.

I almost laughed aloud when I saw her messing around in a garden. "You really did get a garden. And here I thought the vamp was just messing with us."

"Yes," Mum said, rising to give me a hug. She brushed the dirt on her jeans and crossed over to me, hugging me tightly. "You certainly scared me in there," she chided me gently. I held her closer, inhaling her soft smell.

"This is my friend, Meg. Meg, this is my mom," I said, turning to Meg. She looked like she felt out of place, but she smiled and shook my mom's hand.

"Nice to meet you," Mum said smoothly. "I do hope you're uninjured?"

Meg chuckled nervously. "No, just a bit shaken up."

"Trish was bitten," Dad said nonchalantly. He looked deliberately at my wrist, which had mostly healed, thanks to my father's heritage.

Mum screeched. "What are you doing up? Go lay down, right now! You'll catch your death!!" She shuffled me back into the house, with Dad and Meg following behind. Dad was trying not to laugh, and Meg was looking at me curiously.

"Trish?" she asked.

I sighed, as my mom forced me to lie down on the couch. "It's a nickname my dad uses when he wants to be really irritating."

Mum told my dad to go make me some of the penne pasta they had left over. He left, and my mom examined my bite mark. "He only uses it when he's in a good mood," she said. "You should be glad he's not more upset at you."

"I didn't do anything wrong," I pointed out.

"Can I call you Trish?" Meg asked.

I sighed. "If you must." But I was secretly pleased that she wanted a nickname for me. But so as not to appear soft, I said, "But only you. Don't let Draco hear you say it, or he'll want to call me that, too."

I think she saw through me, though, because she smiled knowingly. "Okay, sure. Trish," she added as an afterthought.

I rolled my eyes. Dad returned with the penne, and I obediently ate it. Mum seemed to find it amusing that we had so completely traded positions from the last visit. The only difference was the type of pasta.

"Not to be rude," she said as she watched me eat, "But to what do we owe this visit?"

"Well, actually, I—" I started, but then froze. We'd come to ask for a vampire bite. Well, I'd certainly gotten that, hadn't I? My wrist was still throbbing, an irritating reminder.

So why didn't I remember? Before I could completely formulate that thought, I collapsed into darkness.

* * *

I moaned, coming into awareness. It was dark outside, nighttime. I dimly realized that I was in my old room, on my bed. I sat up, looking around my room. No one was there with me, not very surprising. I became aware that I was hungry, so I got up and walked down the hallway. Meg was sleeping on the couch, wearing some of my old clothes. I ran my hand through my messy hair, and continued my walk to the kitchen. I was crossing the threshold when it happened.

My heart started pumping faster, and my head felt like it would explode. I was hyperaware of the blood rushing beneath my skin. My heart felt like it would burst along with my head. I sat down, clutching my chest. I wanted to slow my heart down, but I didn't know how. I gasped, trying to breathe, but couldn't.

My dad was there suddenly, looking at me anxiously. "Breathe," he told me. I suddenly sensed the meat in the kitchen, magically kept cool. It was uncooked and bloody, and I _really_ wanted it.

I could feel Mum in her room, alive. I could almost feel the blood pumping in her veins… But something told me I couldn't have it. It wasn't mine. It was…his…my dad's.

But Meg's blood…I could sense that, too. I wanted it. I started to stand, but Dad stopped me. "Don't do this," he whispered anxiously. "You'll regret it."

I didn't want to listen. I struggled against him, but couldn't remove myself from his grip. I growled at him.

"Stop," he told me. "Breathe. Don't do this to yourself."

And then it was over. I felt the wetness on my face before I realized I was crying. "Dad," I croaked. "What's happening to me?"

He looked at me sadly, and said softly, "You're trying to remember."

"No," I gasped, "I knew that. I mean, what's happening to me? Why am I feeling…" I stopped, and whispered, "Why am I sensing blood?"

He pulled me into a hug. "The human half of your body is going under too much stress. It's breaking. You need to rest some more, to prevent it from doing so."

He picked me up like he'd done when I was a child, and carried me to my room. He set me on my bed, and started to leave.

"Dad?" I whispered. He was next to me in an instant. "What will happen? If my body breaks?"

His eyes were troubled, I could see that much in the dark. "You might become a vampire," he said finally. He saw the terror on my face, and he rushed to reassure me. "Don't worry. If you do, you can live with us until your bloodlust is controlled. You won't be like the marauders that came by today."

I tried to relax, but the thought that I would become a vamp still shocked and scared me. "Dad? Will I remember? I know you know that much."

He sighed, and kissed my forehead. "Yes. But at what cost? Of that, I'm not sure."

I sighed and nodded. "Goodnight, Daddy."

"Goodnight, Trish," he murmured.

I laughed humorlessly. "Irritating even in times of distress," I murmured.

As I drifted in the world between wakefulness and sleep, I remembered a face…and a name.

Sai…

* * *

(A Letter From Meg to Draco)

Draco,

Sorry to say that our business away has taken more time than we would have liked. I apologize for not informing you of our business previously, but Patricia thought it best that you didn't know. I will respect her wishes. Unfortunately for you, this means you won't be 'in the know'. Again, I apologize.

Please forgive us. We will return as soon as is possible.

Your friend,

Meg Ryder

* * *

Sai awoke, suddenly anxious. His thoughts turned to her instantly. Patricia. He sighed and stood, walking to the window. He could tell there would be no sleep tonight, so he turned and went to go get dressed.

He returned to the window, opened it, and slipped out, jumping onto the roof.

He found it hard to breathe as he sat there. He tried to look at the clouds; he'd heard from Shikamaru that it was calming—like Shikamaru needed calming. Even gazing at clouds didn't help ease the anxiety that had suddenly entered his heart.

Maybe walking would help him relax, he thought. He jumped down onto the street, and started walking through the town.

Indeed, he found himself able to think easier when his body was in motion. For some reason, he felt like Patricia needed him. Of course, he always felt like that, but never like this time. He wanted to go to her…

In an instant his mind was made up. He dashed back to his apartment and grabbed one of his scrolls. He picked up his favorite paintbrush, and dipped it into his favorite shade of black. He started to draw the first letter, when a thought occurred to him.

Treason. If he left Konoha without permission, he'd be committing treason. And where would he be going, anyway? He didn't know where she was.

And yet, the anxious feeling wouldn't leave him. He _had_ to go. When he got there, he'd figure out how to find her.

Even more decisively, if that were possible, he began again. As he lifted his brush a final time, he blew on the ink to dry it. It was supposed to dry quickly, but it didn't seem to be fast enough.

When it was (finally) dry, and he'd packed some clothing, he rolled it into a scroll, and murmured, "Portkey no jutsu."

And as he exited the room, so too did the boy who put duty before everything else.

* * *

"Karin?" It's the girl with the pink hair again, I think.

I look up at her. She's told me her name many times, but I act as though I don't remember, most of the time. Today, I decide to remember. "Sakura?" I say, my voice pleading. "Where do I come from?"

She looks flustered. "I, um, don't know. I don't know your home village, but you used to work for a man named Orochimaru."

The name stirs a feeling inside of me, a feeling of irritation, maybe with a touch of fear, and even smaller, respect.

"What happened to him?" I ask.

"Well," Sakura says, coming to stand next to my bed. "Well, you and a man named Sasuke killed him."

"Oh," I say. "What happened to Sasuke?" I like the feeling that his name gives me. Infatuation, adoration, maybe even love.

Sakura sighs. "He's still in the ICU."

"Was he the one who was in the bed across from mine?"

"Yes."

There's a pause in the conversation, and I can tell she's uncomfortable. "Will he be okay?" I ask finally. "I want him to be okay."

She looks at me closely. "He will be."

I want to turn the conversation to something else, but I'm not sure how. Instead, I ask, "Was he…close to me?" I'm not sure if that's the right way to word the question, but Sakura seems to understand.

"Yes," she said softly. "Very close. Closer than I ever was, or even Naruto."

I don't know who Naruto is, but I decide not to push it. It's obviously a touchy subject for her. "Does he remember?"

"Yes. He's just got a bunch of physical problems."

"Good," I say. "The man we killed? Why did we do it?"

Sakura blows out a frustrated breath. "Even I'm not quite sure. Sasuke left his village—this village—to go join Orochimaru. It was betrayal. But according to Sasuke, he left in order to gain enough power to kill Orochimaru. My guess is that he needed your help to do it. At this point, you would have done anything for Sasuke."

"Oh. How did this happen to me?" I gesture to my leg.

"You and Sasuke were in prison," she says quietly. "Sasuke collaborated with the ANBU to bring your fellow rogue ninja Suigetsu to justice. He convinced Suigetsu to release him so that we could catch him. He's been in the bingo book for years."

"Why were we in prison?" I ask.

"Because you were previously enemies of Konoha. But since you both helped to kill two of the men from the bingo book, a petition has been put forth to have you released. You probably will be, Karin, since you have no memories of your previous life."

Something occurs to me as she says this. "Sakura…I'm not the only one who doesn't remember." I mean to ask it as a question, but it comes out as a statement.

"No. No, there are others." If I hadn't been watching her closely, I wouldn't have seen a single tear slip down her face before she swiped it away.

* * *

To someone who might walk by the room, Gaara appeared to be doing paperwork.

If that person had looked closer, he would have realized that Gaara's paintbrush was poised, but not moving, and had been for the past few minutes. Still, the person wouldn't have questioned it, because to question Gaara was crazy.

Gaara, in fact, was quite distracted currently, with things like wizards, witches, and Hogwarts. Or more specifically, Meg Ryder.

He tried to distract himself from her, but found himself unable to. He remembered waking up a few days earlier, and realizing that thinking about her felt different. He felt like there was hope suddenly. Like he might have a chance to see her again. He liked that thought.

But then he remembered that even if she did remember (doubtful), she didn't know where he was, and had no way to get to him. So he was stuck in this quandary between hope and despair.

A shinobi knocked on the door before stepping in. It was customary to knock, even if the door was open. "Kazekage-sama, this arrived today from Konoha." He held a scroll in his hand.

Gaara took the proffered scroll and nodded. "Thank you. Dismissed."

The shinobi bowed, and left.

Gaara rolled his eyes. Bowing…like he was king or something. Shaking his head, he undid the scroll and read it quickly. His heart sank with each word. It seemed Sai had left the village and was believed to have used portkey no jutsu to go back to…

"England?" Gaara whispered hoarsely. "Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no…" He wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. He sighed and continued to read.

"The council is still debating whether or not Sai should be added to the bingo book," the scroll read. "It has been roughly decided that if he compromises Konoha or any other village's safety, he will be. As of yet, we have no reason to believe he will."

He quit reading there, and blew out a frustrated sigh. What had he been thinking? Sai would no doubt tell Patricia everything when he found her…

Wait. Sai didn't know where Patricia lived. He knew only how to get to Hogwarts. He doubted McGonagall would reveal anything, if she were told not to…

He gasped. It was no doubt too late to warn McGonagall, but he could certainly try. He wrote a message quickly, and called a shinobi to send it on the fastest bird available to Konoha.

After he did so, he wondered if he'd done the right thing. He wanted Meg to find him, right? But he didn't want Sai to be killed because of it…

Too late now, he thought. And with ferocity previously unknown, he started his paperwork, doing his best to erase her lost look…

* * *

The previous night, McGonagall had been working on finding a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher (the one from the previous year had quit). She'd been sifting through applications and writing letters with the dates of their interviews for the men and women who'd applied.

And she'd suddenly realized she wasn't alone. "Hello?" she said, looking up.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall."

She gasped. "What are you doing here? Sai, is it?"

He smiled his false smile, and said, "That's me. Previous caretaker of Hogwarts. I hope you don't mind me dropping in for a visit?"

"But what are you doing here? I would have thought Tsunade would tell me if someone was coming," she said suspiciously.

"Oh, she would have, under normal circumstances," Sai said cheerfully. "But she doesn't know I'm here, you see."

McGonagall frowned. "Why not?"

"Because I'd get in a lot of trouble if she knew I was here," he answered honestly. "Now please relax. I'm not going to hurt you, I just need some information."

McGonagall reached for her wand hidden in her robes. "What information would that be?" she asked tersely.

"Whoa, no need to pull the wand out," Sai said quickly.

She froze. How had he seen that?

"All I need to know is the location of Patricia Edwards. She was a seventh year last year," he said calmly, as though he were asking about the weather.

"We don't keep records after a student graduates," McGonagall lied. Her fingers tightened around her wand.

"Mmhmm," he said. "Well, maybe you can just remember, then?"

"Afraid not," she said, and her wand came out, pointed at him.

He shook his head, and snatched the wand away before she could blink. "I told you, there's no need for that. Now, I came in here with every intent to be nice, but you just had to pull out a weapon." He shook his head, utterly disgusted. "Well, I'm not going to hurt you; I see no need for it. However, I could let it slip to the Ministry that you allowed all of the students in Hogwarts to have memory wipes. You'd be out of here and into Azkaban in no time, eh?"

Her eyes widened. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, I would. I could snap your wand, too. I bet you wouldn't like that… Why so surprised? Before a ninja is sent on a mission, a lot of research is done. I know all of your weaknesses, McGonagall." Sai gave her a leering grin. "Now all of this can be avoided if you just tell me where Patricia is."

"What do you want with Patricia?" McGonagall asked.

Sai smiled. She was giving in. "Don't worry, McGonagall. I'm not going to hurt her, either. To be honest with you, I miss her…" His voice trailed off longingly. "She was someone who actually cared about me, you know? At least, I think she did. It never got that far… But I have this crazy feeling that she needs me. Badly. What do you think?"

McGonagall stared at him, caught of guard. "I think…you should give me my wand back."

"I will, don't worry," he said, returned to his good humor. "Now, first, tell me where she is. And no tricks. Remember, I can let it slip to the Ministry…"

"No, no tricks," McGonagall agreed, and she bustled over to a large filing cabinet. She would have used her wand to accio the file, but since her wand was…busy, she was forced to do some things the muggle way.

She found the file quickly and thrust it to him.

"Thank you, dear," he said with a smile.

"Can I have my wand back, now?" she asked.

"Ah, ah. You may try to accio it before I can read where she is. I have to be save, you see." He opened the file and read it quickly, skipping to her location. He sat down and pulled out a scroll and his paintbrush and ink. Quickly, he drew the letters, and blew the ink dry. He rolled it up, and added the finishing touches.

He handed her the file and said, "You put the file away, and I'll set the wand on your desk. Then I'll leave, all right? I wouldn't want you to accio my scroll, you see."

She frowned, but agreed, walking backwards to watch him set the wand on her desk.

"It's been a pleasure working with you, McGonagall, dearest. But now, I must leave you. Toodles." And with a little wave and the murmured words, "Portkey no jutsu," he was gone.

McGonagall ran to her desk and picked up her wand, checking it for damage. Using her wand, she put the file away, and prayed that she hadn't made a mistake.

* * *

The next day, when Draco read the letter Meg had sent him, he couldn't suppress his surprise. He'd thought that they were past secrecy by now, at least from Meg…

At the same time, he knew that Meg kept the secrets of others. That was one of the reasons he trusted her.

Still, he felt offended that Patricia hadn't wanted him to know her secret. He pretended that she was protecting him with this.

At least they'd be back soon. His house was already seeming lonely and empty again. Sighing, he went into his potions room. Today was the last day for the Veritaserum, and tomorrow, it'd be time to test his theory. Hopefully the girls would be back by then, to question him.

He assumed the reason Patricia had gone on the expedition was to regain her memories. Why hadn't she told him what she was doing?

He opened the book to the page with Veritaserum, and read the final instructions. Nothing to difficult, and he wouldn't need any help to do it. But he'd need to wait exactly twenty-five hours after he added the final ingredient to drink it. It didn't have to be drunk immediately, but it was necessary to wait that time period.

He added the rosemary, and then the thornroot. Stir thirty-four times clockwise, and then sixteen times counterclockwise. Add wormwood; let it sink to the bottom. Cover with leather. Let the potion sit for twenty-five hours.

He checked the clock. 8:39. He set his clock to go off at 9:39 the next day.

Now, he had to wait.

* * *

Sasuke had morphine dreams.

Every night, the dreams were weirder and weirder. Of course, to him, they weren't dreams; they were reality.

Some of the dreams involved real people, others involved a fairy princess who claimed to be his best friend. He'd accepted it in the dream, of course. In his dreams, there was nothing more natural.

He liked to tell Naruto about his dreams when he came to visit.

"Naruto," he said. His voice was raspy, but he didn't care. Naruto had to hear about this. "Naruto."

"What, Teme?" came Naruto's bored reply.

"A man died in here last night," Sasuke said, his voice sure. "About three beds down."

"Uh-huh," Naruto said. "Another morphine dream?"

Sasuke looked confused. "What? I don't know what you're talking about. Anyway, even _you _wouldn't believe this. They sold all his stuff! Isn't that awful?" (3)

"Uh-huh. Terrible. Maybe I'd better tell Sakura to cut down the morphine for a while," Naruto said thoughtfully.

"You don't seem very concerned," Sasuke said.

"Oh, I'm concerned, alright," Naruto muttered under his breath. Then he smiled wickedly. "I'm just upset I missed the sale."

"Naruto," Sasuke whined, holding out the 'o'. "How could you say something so mean?"

"Eh, the same way you're suddenly so nice." Naruto paused. "On second thought, maybe I shouldn't tell Sakura to decrease the morphine, if you're gonna be this nice..."

* * *

**Heh, that was extra long since I made y'all wait so long. It's like...12 or 13 pages. Amazing for me. :)**

**(1) Have you ever noticed that if you put the words together, it's diagonally? And Nocturn Ally—nocturnally! So cool! JK Rowling was simply genius.  
****(2) Or would it be 'then'? I'm not sure about the use of 'than' as opposed to 'then'.  
(3) My Grandpa had a dream like this when he was in the ICU. Just thought I'd throw in some humor, and a peice of my cuh-razy life.**

**That…was actually okay. After I started writing, the words just seemed to flow. I thank Panic! At the Disco, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Taking Back Sunday, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Amber Pacific. Where would I be without their fabulous music? **

**Good news: I finally got a mouse pad! It has the Chinese symbol for Love on it, but it looks very similar to Gaara's kanji! Awesome or what? Furthermore, I've replaced my irritating 1 gig mp3 player with an 80-gig iPod. I'm very satisfied. Except that it's not really 80 gigs, it's 74.31 gigs. I'm not even mad about the lack, but just the fact that it wasn't advertised correctly. Sheesh. Liars don't just hang in Hollywood, eh? Oh, my mp3's name was Mikey. What should I name my iPod? Any ideas?**

**Questions? Comments? Concerns? Leave a review! Please. :)**

**OH yeah! I passed my driver's test!! :)**


	10. Ch7: Concerns About the Past, Present

**Um…I realized this a couple chapters ago, and I just want to say that Trish's last name, Edwards, is not a pun. When I gave her that last name, I didn't realize that she was going to have a vampire parent. It's just a coincidence that she's a half-vamp named Edwards…Now, I laugh about it. Heehee.**

**Oh, one thing I do want to point out is the wonky time line that's been going on. Last chapter, Trish's events came first, Sai's coming RIGHT after. Karin's events were a flash-forward, the next day, along with Gaara's. McGonagall's were a flashback. Draco and Sasuke's were a flash-forward. Right now, we're going back to right after Trish went to sleep. (FYI, she's still Patricia to most.)**

**Gone So Young, Living Proof, Poetically Pathetic, and Fall Back Into My Life, all by Amber Pacific. I know, that's a lot of songs…But they all fit so perfectly…**

* * *

Chapter 7 – Concerns About the Past, Present, Future

* * *

My eyes opened, and for a moment, I was disoriented. I could hear people whispering, and then I saw a man carry a girl down the hall.

And then I remembered. I was in Trish's house, sleeping on her couch. That was her dad. I wondered why he was carrying her, but I dismissed the thought quickly, and tried to go back to sleep.

I was so very close to sleep, when I heard something on the porch. My eyes fluttered back open and I froze. I held my breath and listened, remembering the—quite literally—blood-thirsty face of the vampire.

Then I let a shaky breath out. I was being ridiculous. It was probably just a cat.

But animals stay away from vampires, a nagging part of my mind whispered.

Lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice, and neither do vampires, I reminded myself.

Then, I nearly shrieked. A face was pressed against the window. I bit my lip and didn't move; didn't breathe. I stared at the face, and realized that I recognized the person.

"Sai?" I breathed in relief. I sat up and darted across the room silently.

He didn't look surprised to see me stand. He must have seen me looking at him. He did look unhappy, though. I wondered why.

I opened the door, and slipped outside.

"Sai!" I said, smiling. "This is a nice surprise."

"Um…who are you? And how do you know who I am?" He was obviously thrown off by the fact that I remembered him, and maybe that he'd been caught peering into a house.

"Oh, you didn't really know me by name, I guess, but you must recognize me," I said calmly. "Remember? I was the girl who was practically attached to Hinata's hip?"

A look of recognition passed over his face. "And Gaara's, towards the end?"

I didn't have to ask what the end was. We both knew. "Yes. That was me." I smiled and held out a hand. "Meg Ryder. I'm pleased to meet you again."

He looked at me strangely before taking my hand and shaking it. "How do you remember this? Obliviation is supposed to be irreversible."

I laughed. "Almost all spells are reversible," I told him. "They just don't tell us how while we're in Hogwarts. We've got to figure it out by ourselves."

"Guess we didn't do enough research," Sai muttered. Then he added rudely, "Why are you here, anyway?"

"I have every right to be here," I said defensively. "My friend invited me to visit her parents with her."

"Patricia?" he said, his eyes suddenly hopeful. "She's here?"

I nodded. "Yeah. You're lucky, actually. We only got here yesterday, and were planning to be gone by nightfall, but…" My voice trailed off.

His face was troubled. "Something's wrong with her, right? That's why I came—I felt like she needed…me." He whispered the last word.

"Incredible," I murmured.

"So, what exactly is wrong with—"

The door opened, and out stepped Trish's mom. "Meg, I need you to get away from here, very fast. She's out of control." She saw Sai. "Hi. Very nice to meet you. Now come on." She grabbed my hand, and started to pull me towards the river.

"Come on, Sai," I said, taking hold of his arm and pulling him along.

"But Patricia—" he started.

"We can't help her right now," her mom interrupted. "Only her father can. And unless you want to be completely dependant on a vampire for the rest of your life, you better get into that water."

"Why water?" I asked as we plunged into it. "Do vampires dislike it, or something?" I didn't remember that from my research.

Her eyes twinkled as we got in deep enough that we were treading water. "Nope."

"Then why are we here? Does it confuse our scents?" I asked.

"Maybe it would, if she were a bloodhound." She laughed. "No, the answer is far simpler. My darling daughter can't swim."

"Isn't that dangerous?" I asked. "You live right next to a river."

"Surely you must have guessed that we spend our days indoors? That's the reason we're so pale."

"Oh," I said.

"Sorry, but I'm confused," Sai interrupted. "Why are we talking about vampires? And what is wrong with Patricia?"

"Well…" I stopped. Trish's father had come out of the house.

"It's safe," he called. "You can come out of the river, but I'd rather you didn't come inside. She'll wake up in an hour or two." He walked down to the side of the river and waited as we swam back towards him.

"Was it really necessary to send me here?" asked Trish's mom, as we climbed onto the riverbed, shivering. It wasn't cold outside, but now that we were wet, it was frigid.

He shrugged. "Unfortunately. She's not recognizing vampire boundaries."

"Is that normal?" I asked.

He looked at me sadly. "None of this is normal. No one bites half-lings—it's cruel. Just look at what she's going through." He sighed and shook his head.

Sai blew out a frustrated breath. "Can someone please explain what's going on here?"

"Can you please be patient? We're trying to figure out what to do," I snapped.

"I don't know that there's anything we _can_ do," her father said quietly. "I think we have to let it run its course."

"What will happen if she becomes a vampire?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Nothing special. She'll just…be a vampire." He glanced at Sai speculatively.

I watched him examine Sai and wondered why he would. Surely he couldn't be thinking…

Tentatively, Sai asked, "Can I see her?"

"NO!" we all shouted at once.

"Okay, okay. I just…" he sighed.

"She doesn't remember you," I said softly. "And anyway, if you get too close, she might take a snap at you."

"I'm going back inside," Trish's father said. "I want to be there when she wakes up." He started to walk back towards the house. When he reached the porch, he turned back to look at Sai. "By the way, she remembers your name and your face. She'll remember more soon, but…" He shrugged, and walked back inside.

Trish's mom walked over to the edge of the riverbed and sat down, gazing at the water's movement. It was like she was in another world.

I sighed and sat down, leaning against a tree. Sai stood awkwardly where we'd left him. He stared mournfully at the house.

"Sai?" I called, and he glanced at me. "You want to know what happened?"

He nodded, and ran over to where I was sitting.

"Please," I murmured, "Sit." I yawned and stretched as he sat down. I was really going to regret this in the morning. "I don't know any other way to tell you this story than to start from the beginning…

"It all started on the last day of school, on the train ride home. I was sitting alone, like I preferred to, but Trish asked if she could sit with me."

"Trish?" he interrupted.

I nodded. "Patricia's nickname. Anyway, she'd deduced that we were suffering from obliviation…"

"How?"

I sighed. "Be quiet and I'll tell you. She figured it out, because she'd remember something, but then the memory would have blank spots. Anyway, we decided that we'd figure out a way to get our memories back. Soon, Draco was in on the campaign. I thought if I could see the person who cast the memory charm on me, maybe I'd remember. That's not quite what happened, but a strong mental image triggered my memory."

Sai opened his mouth to ask a question, but I held up a hand. "Patience is a virtue," I told him. "Now. What happened was that a mononoke entered my dreams and showed me a picture of Gaara's tattoo, and his voice saying the word 'love'. It was enough to trigger my memories.

"Draco thought he could make a potion to remember. He figured out that by drinking veritaserum, a truth-telling potion, if he were asked questions about his missing memories, he might remember. I think he's on day twenty-nine of the potion. It takes thirty days, or something like that. I actually don't pay attention, so I wouldn't really know. I avoid potions as a general rule.

"Trish, though…She didn't think of a way to remove the spell. She liked Draco's idea, but doesn't trust potions like a Slytherin would." I laughed. "She thought my idea was stupid, though I was close to right.

"Once I regained my memory, I spent a lot of time researching ways the spell could be broken. On accident, one day, I slipped into the preternatural section. It was then I figured out that Trish was half-vampire."

Sai stared at me. "You're…serious."

"Unfortunately," I agreed. "She made me promise not to tell Draco, though I doubt she'll care now. We thought that if a vampire bit her, she might be able to remember. So we came to visit her parents to ask for her boon."

Trish's mom snorted. I realized she'd been listening the entire time. "Are you serious? Stephen never would have granted your 'boon'."

I cleared my throat. "Which brings us to our current predicament," I continued, as though I hadn't been interrupted. "We came today, but we were attacked by rogue vampires, which I still don't understand."

"The female was a mind-reader," Trish's mom said quietly. "That's how the male knew so much. Patricia figured it out from a few blunders he made, but anyone who hadn't been so close to him wouldn't have. The male could wear appearances and change them like clothes. He appeared like Stephen, to disarm you. It wasn't necessary that you be confused about him the whole time. They've been scuttling around this region for a while, and that's how they knew that Trish would come back and visit at some point. They knew that they could get her. It was just their luck that you were there, too."

"Hmmm…" I considered this new information, and tucked it into my storehouse of vampire information. "Alright. From what I've read, a regular human, such as yourself or I, upon being bitten would be dependent on a vampire for the rest of his or her life, or would die. We wouldn't become a vampire."

Sai raised his hand. I nodded, and he asked, "Then how do vampires come into being?"

"The same way humans do," I said easily. "They're born. They're mortal. They grow old, and die." Sai looked a bit disturbed, but said nothing. "I couldn't find anything about what would happen to a half-vampire if he or she was bitten, because it's a really big taboo in the vampire world."

"That's why Stephen could kill them," Trish's mom jumped in. "Before, he had no reason to, so he couldn't."

"Right," I said, though I hadn't known all of that. "But, anyway, I'm guessing this is what happens when a half-vampire gets bitten—they actually would become a vampire."

"But we don't know that she will be," Trish's mom pointed out. "Stephen can't tell if she will be or not."

"Should he be able to?" I asked.

"Sort of. He has a rough idea of what will happen in the future, like he knows that she'll remember about Sai and everyone else." She glanced at Sai. "That's why we weren't really confused about you're appearance. We knew you'd be here."

Sai nodded, seemingly having one of his questions sorted out. Then a frown crossed his face. "If he can sort of see the future, why didn't he know that the vampires would attack Patricia?"

She shrugged. "He did. But the rule for people like him is that they don't try to change the future so dramatically. Killing the two vampires was necessary. But stopping them from biting Patricia? Not allowed."

"Anything else?" I asked. I was aching to ask him a few questions of my own.

"Well…one more thing," he said. "If she does become a vampire, what happens?"

I didn't quite know how to put my words tactfully, so I glanced at Trish's mom.

"Well…" she began. "Eventually, she'd need a human familiar… Someone she'd have a relationship with, like her father and mine. She'd have to drink his blood, a process they'd both need…" Her voice trailed off. "But she wouldn't need him immediately."

The silence hung thick in the air, letting us soak that information in.

After a moment, I said, "I have a few questions for you, too, Sai."

He gave me a guarded look. "I don't know how much I can say. I'm already risking being placed in the bingo book, just by being here."

"Bingo book?"

"Criminal hit list," he explained shortly. "You can go ahead and ask me whatever you want, I just can't guarantee that I'll be able to answer."

"First: Gaara. Is he okay? How is he doing? Is he still…" I blushed. "Single?"

"He's okay, though strangely depressed." He cast a glance at me. "Well, maybe it's not so strange," he muttered. "As for being single, he is, though Usagi is pressuring him to forget you."

I grimaced. Leave it to her… "Okay, good. Let's see…how did you get here?"

"Portkey." As though it were obvious.

"But how did you know where Trish lived?" I asked.

"I had a chat with Professor McGonagall." He looked quite smug, suddenly, and I wondered exactly what had gone on in this so-called 'chat'.

"And she just handed over Trish's file, no fight?" I asked.

"Well, she had to be convinced, of course," he said, confirming my suspicions.

I yawned again. "Well, I'd ask you more, but I'm tired. I'm going to try to get some sleep before we have to go back into the river."

It didn't take long for me to drift off, but it also didn't take long for someone to wake me up.

Sai was pulling me to my feet. "Back to the river."

Disoriented again, I asked, quite eloquently, "Huh?"

"She's going crazy again," he said, dragging me towards the water.

I still wasn't getting it. "What?"

Apparently, I wasn't moving fast enough, so he scooped me up and ran into the water. "You know," he said as we plunged into the water. "Patricia. Vampire. Crazy."

My head cleared as we got in deep enough that he had to let go and tread water.

"Oh. Right. Sorry." A thought occurred to me as we struggled to stay above the surface. "Sai…"

"Hmm?" he said, distracted.

"How are you doing? I mean, all of this must be affecting you…"

He smiled sadly. "Would you believe me if I said that just being within a fifty-foot radius of her makes me feel better? I don't know if I'm helping her, but I'm happier than I have been in months." He blew out a breath. "That's not what you're asking, though, is it? I guess if she did become a vampire, I wouldn't care. I'd still want to be near her, even if she didn't want me to be." His words hung in the air.

"Enough to be her familiar?" Trish's mom asked the question I'd been burning to ask. In my confusion, I'd forgotten her, but I could see her treading water a few feet away.

He closed his eyes, and then looked back towards the house. "Enough to be her familiar," he affirmed.

I smiled at him. "Make sure she knows that," I said, and he looked at me in confusion. "Well, you two didn't exactly tell each other about your feelings. Everyone could tell, but I bet she didn't ever tell you how much she liked you. And you—" I laughed. "You are the most confusing person I've ever talked to. Of course she didn't know how you felt."

"I couldn't tell her," he said simply. "I still shouldn't."

I frowned. "Why?"

"Shinobi are emotionless. They don't get involved with clients, or civilians," he quoted. "And anyway, I didn't know how I felt. My whole life, I've been taught not to have emotions. It took me years to feel anything, and even then, I had no idea what I was feeling. I couldn't have known…I _still _don't know what to call this." He sighed. "Here comes her dad."

I glanced back at the house and saw him coming. We swam back towards the bed, and climbed out of the water. His face was sad, but also a bit relieved. "It's too late," he said quietly. "She's one of us now."

I saw Sai slump over from the corner of my eye. "Does she remember?" I asked, shivering.

He nodded. "And, she's recognizing the boundaries. Her bloodlust is controlled, right now." He sighed. "You can all come back inside." He paused and glanced at Sai. "She'll want to see you, when Meg tells her you're here."

I nodded. "Um, first, could I take a bath?"

"Second the motion!" Trish's mom said. "But you aren't going into my house like that." She walked over to the water hose, and turned it on. Before we could react, she was hosing us down, rinsing the river guck off of us. Then she turned it on herself.

Now, dripping with water—but at least it was clean water—we trudged into the house. I shuffled into the bathroom Trish's dad pointed me towards, Sai taking the other. Her mom had decided to let her guests go first.

I cleaned myself as fast as I could, and then dumped my soaking clothes into the hamper. Putting on a robe, I stepped out of the bathroom, and looked for something to wear.

I ended up in Trish's room. She was sitting on her bed with her back to me. I could tell she'd pulled her knees up against her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"Trish?" I called softly.

"In the closet," she said in a strangled voice.

"Thanks," I said, walking to the closet quickly. I opened it and grabbed the first set of clothing I found. I walked towards the door, and just as I stepped out into the hallway, she called out to me.

"Meg? I'm sorry."

I shook my head, though she couldn't see it. "I'm sorry, too." I considered waiting to tell her, but I knew I'd feel bad. "Trish, he's here."

"Who?" she asked.

"Sai," I said, watching her carefully. If she reacted right, I'd know she really had remembered.

She was still for a second, and then she was suddenly right next to me. "WHERE?"

I rocked back, surprised by her sudden appearance. "Last I heard, he was in the bath."

"Oh, no, he was here while I was all crazy? Crap." She blew hair out of her eyes, revealing her gray pupils and golden flecks.

I watched her move back towards the bed. She was more graceful than before. "Tell me when he's dressed." She sat down and pushed the hair out of her eyes again. This time, it stayed.

I realized that she was paler than before, and her hair was an even lighter blonde. Her eyelashes were darker, and she may have been a bit more slender, but other than that, she looked the same.

"Yeah," I heard myself say. "I'll tell you." Shaking my head, I walked back to the bathroom to get dressed. I stared at myself in the mirror, and saw how I was so very different than her. Thick, black wavy hair; thin, platinum blonde straight hair. Brown eyes; silver and gold eyes. Petite; tall and slender.

On one hand, we were complete opposites. But I felt close to her, almost as close as I'd been to Hinata. Maybe our clashing looks and personalities weren't really clashing, but complimenting. As cheesy as it sounded, we were like the light and the dark. The day and the night.

I shook my head and got dressed, so Trish's mom could take her bath. Once dressed, I stepped into the hall. "I'm out, Mrs. Edwards!" I called.

As she passed me, she said, "Don't call me that. Call me Elizabeth."

I nodded, and went into the living room. Trish's father was sitting on the couch and I tentatively sat next to him. He sighed, and said. "If you're calling her that, you may as well call me Stephen." He glanced at me. "I'm sorry you've had to go through this."

"Me? I haven't gone through anything. Trish…" I stopped.

"It's okay. I understand what you mean. It's different for her than it was for me. I was born like this—I never had to go through this change that she did. I hate myself for putting her through this."

"She wouldn't want you to say that," I said softly. "Or feel like that."

"I know. But I can't help but feel like I've ruined everything for her. I could have stopped those two—"

"You couldn't have, from what I've heard."

"I could have broken a few rules," he muttered.

"No. Look at it this way. If you hadn't let her be bitten, Sai never would have come. He wouldn't have felt the need. She probably wouldn't have remembered, and she'd just be more upset that way—trust me, I know. She doesn't blame you for anything. If there's someone she should blame, it's the ones who did this to her. It's not your fault," I said firmly.

He smiled. "Thank you…Meg…" His eyes were closing. He was falling asleep. I hadn't realized how tired he was.

I sighed and stood. I had to be awake when Sai came out. I paced quietly, doing my best not to wake Stephen. It was weird to call him that, even in my head. I thought about random things, trying to distract myself from counting hippogriffs. (1)

As though to ease my torment, Sai came out, wearing some of the clothes he'd thought to bring. "Hey," he said. "Is she awake?"

"Yeah." I gestured that he should follow me, and led him to her room. "Trish? He's here to see you." She'd returned to her bed and curled up again, but when she heard me, she turned around and sat on the edge of her bed. She looked anxious, and sent me a panicked look.

I glanced back at Sai. "Could you give us just a minute?"

He nodded, and took a step back.

I crossed the threshold and went to sit down next to her. "What's wrong?" She edged away from me, and I realized that I might be distracting her. I stood and crossed the room.

"That's what's wrong," she whispered, just loud enough for me to hear. "What if I can't control myself?"

"You'll control yourself." I paused, knowing how false that sounded. "I can stay in the room if you want." Again, not a big help.

Apparently, it gave her a false sense of security, though, because she nodded.

"Are you ready?" I asked. She nodded, and I went to get Sai. "She's ready."

Tentatively, he stepped into the room, watching her. She looked back at him, and for a full minute, they were frozen, staring at each other.

Finally, he spoke. "Hey, Snowflake."

She smiled, a touch of sadness and longing in her eyes. I'd noticed it before, when she'd looked at Draco. I wondered what she thought of him, now. "Hey," she said simply.

He started to move towards her, but then stopped, hesitating. "Patricia, I—" He cut off, not sure what he was going to say.

I sat down, and waited patiently.

"I'm sorry," he said at last. "What we did was wrong. To you, too, Meg."

I shrugged, and he turned his attention back to Trish. "I never meant to hurt you, and I think I did. I hurt myself, too, when I left." He huffed. "Everyday, I would wake up and remember how you so valiantly fought Orochimaru, even when I told you not to. And then I'd come back down to earth, and remember that you couldn't remember doing that. You couldn't remember me.

"I felt…angry. I felt angry. That's what you feel, right? When you get that feeling, like you could hurt someone? Anger. I wanted you to remember me. I didn't want you to see someone else, and to think about him how I wanted you to think of me. I wanted…I wanted you. I wanted you to be with me."

Trish sort of just gaped at him, as though she was waiting for him to laugh, and say he was kidding.

"Patricia…" he said softly. "I shouldn't be here. I could get killed, if I told you anything at all about where I come from. I could be killed, just for coming here. How was I to know that you remembered?

"But I knew I had to be here. I had to see you, or…I don't know. I'd be…incomplete. Lost. Dissatisfied with my life.

"Patricia, I don't know what to call this feeling. I've read so much about emotions, but it's different to read about something than it is to actually experience something. But I think…the way I feel…I can only describe it as…I might love you. And it's a good feeling. I like it."

It was as though time had stopped. I felt like I was interrupting something intimate, so I looked away, but I couldn't help but to glance at Trish.

Her mouth was slightly ajar. "You…I…What?"

He seemed unfazed. "I love you." This time, his voice was sure and confident.

"I…" Her voice trailed off. And then, she was incredulous. "You…_you_ love _me_. What, are you crazy?"

This reaction surprised him. "What?"

"Why? Why would you love me? I'm nothing special. Just…me."

"Exactly," he said, as though it should have been obvious to her.

"No, I don't think you get it," she said, suddenly frustrated. "I'm a parasite, okay? A blood-sucking vampire. If I have to be special, than let's put it right—I'm not the good kind of special. Why would you want that?"

He shook his head and sighed. "Why wouldn't I, Patricia? Love, or so I've read, is the ability to overlook someone's flaws. The strongest thing that could ever exist!"

"The need to drink blood is a bit more than a flaw," she pointed out.

"But it doesn't matter," he stressed. "I don't care."

"But I do!" she wailed. "I don't want to hurt you!"

"Then don't," he said simply. "I don't particularly want you to hurt me, so we should be fine."

"No, you don't understand! What if I lose control? What then? What if I kill…someone? What if I kill you?"

He shrugged, obviously not concerned. "You won't."

"You can't guarantee that," she muttered.

"No," he said. "I can't. Only you can." He shook his head. "I'm not giving up on you, Patricia. I can't convince you tonight, but I'm definitely not giving up," he repeated. Then he smiled at her. "Good night." He left the room, leaving Trish pouting.

"Trish," I whined.

She turned away. "Don't say it."

"Why are you doing this to yourself? To Sai? Quite frankly, I'm disappointed. The rock understands his feelings better than you do." I shook my head in disgust.

"Look, I do know my feelings. That's the problem," she said mournfully.

"Explain," I snapped. "And it better be good."

She sighed. "I love him, too, okay? There, I said it. But—" she paused, shaking her head. "But I don't want to reduce him from…friend to food."

I sighed, exasperated. "Trish, you do realize that at some point, you'll have to choose a human familiar, or become like the vamps that attacked you and I, right?"

She frowned petulantly. "No. I'm not eating anyone."

"So what, you'll just starve yourself to death?"

"If necessary," she said crisply, shooting me a glare.

"You do realize Sai is more than willing," I said.

"And you must realize that I'm not willing! I refuse to reduce someone I love to that level. I'm not going to be a parasite!"

I sighed. "Is that how you see your parents? A parasite and his food?"

Her eyes widened, and she clapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh." She pulled her knees against her chest again, and buried her face. "I'm a terrible person," she muttered. "I only think of myself."

"Oh, Trish," I said softly, "That's not what I meant. Of course you aren't—"

"Then what did you mean?" she challenged.

"You're just not seeing the bigger picture. You…this is a big change, you know? Of course you're overwhelmed, and not thinking about how this compares to your parents," I finished lamely. I realized I'd found her weakness, though, and not feeling ashamed at all, I said, "It's just like your parents—the roles are just sort of reversed. You're the vampire in love with the human, and Sai is the human in love with the vampire. You don't want to hurt him, and he just wants to be with you, no matter the cost. Like your mom." I didn't know this for sure, but judging by the look on her face, my words were making an impression. "And look how they're doing—they turned out just fine. No one's dead."

"But I'm not my father," she muttered.

"No, but I'm pretty sure you love Sai like your dad loves your mom," I gambled. I didn't know the depth of her feelings, but I was sure I was close to the mark. "And just like your dad, you'll protect those you love."

She glared at me. "You're mean."

I put on an innocent look. "Pardon?"

"Using my parents situation as an argument," she muttered resentfully.

"Did it work?" I asked hopefully.

Something smacked me in the face, knocking me over. I pulled a pillow off of my face, and realized that Trish had thrown it so hard and fast that the normally soft, fluffy pillow felt like a boulder. "Ow," I complained. "Cheater."

She grimaced. "Sorry. Sometimes I forget my own strength."

"_I_ don't," I muttered. "Well?"

"Well, what?" she asked. "Oh, do you want an apology? Sorry."

I shook my head with a sigh. "No, no. Did it work?"

"Do I need to throw another pillow?" she grumbled. Upon seeing me throw my arms up in front of my face, she laughed. "Don't worry, I won't." She paused, and then said, "Maybe. Maybe it worked. You definitely gave me something to think about."

I frowned at her. Not good enough, but I'd take it. "I'm heading to bed, too. 'Night."

"If you can call it that." She tilted her head to the window, and I noticed the first lights of dawn in the distance.

"Darn. I'm going to miss this sleep tomorrow," I muttered crankily. "Well, I'm getting as much as I can. Er…morning."

Trish laughed. "Yeah. Morning."

* * *

Tenten's eyes were red-rimmed, maybe from lack of sleep, maybe from the tears that ran down her cheeks. She sat on the dock, one leg hanging over the water, the other pulled against her chest. She rested her chin on her knee and gazed across the smooth water, flat against the gray sky.

She hated it.

Why was it so smooth and undisturbed? Why was it still? Why didn't it dance in agony? Was it somehow immune to pain?

A tear slid down her face, and angrily, she wiped it away. She wasn't going to produce anymore of this…_peace_.

Didn't this foolish lake realize that the world wasn't peaceful? There was pain, fierce, burning pain. Was the still water so naïve?

Why wasn't the water choppy, with torrential waves, like the ocean?

Like the ocean had been that night…

But no—she refused to remember it. She stood angrily, and spun on her heel, turning her back on the water. She wasn't dwelling on it, not today. Not right now, with a wedding less than two weeks away. Not right now, when she was going to see Neji, who no doubt had more problems than she.

But does he? A snide part of her mind whispered. Surely he's better off than you.

She ignored this part of herself, and kicked a pebble. It skittered up the street, knocking against the curb. The streets were quiet, with only a few villagers milling about. The gray clouds above were oppressive and tiring, and most people were spending the day indoors.

She was grateful there weren't many people to see her distress. She continued to collect herself, until she appeared almost normal. This was good—she had to look natural, or Neji would close up.

He was waiting for her when she arrived at the training field. "Hey," he said.

She couldn't help but smile at him. It was nice to have someone waiting for her. Even if it was only because she was late. "Hey," she agreed. "No Lee, today?"

He smiled. "Thankfully."

She laughed, and slid her hand into his when she was close enough. Together, they walked to the outskirts of the field, to lean against a tree. For a few moments, they sat in silence and gazed at the foliage above.

Surprisingly, Neji broke the comfortable silence. "Tenten?"

"Hmm?" she mumbled, still gazing at the leaves, shifting in the light wind.

"Do you ever remember your parents? At all?" He turned to look at her, but she didn't meet his gaze for a second.

"I think I do, sometimes," she said finally, after watching him carefully. "I don't really know…I was so young when they died." Her voice was flat and emotionless. Neji must have seen the pain in her eyes, though, because he didn't press deeper, and began rubbing his thumb on the back of her palm.

"I was just wondering," he said quietly. "I don't remember much about my father, and I never knew my mother." He saw the question on her face. "She's my step-mother. Dad didn't want anyone to know. My grandparents didn't approve of his first marriage, and neither did her parents, or so I'm told."

"Wow," she whispered. "Is your mom alive?"

He shrugged. "Grandfather didn't approve of my father contacting her, so I don't know if she's alive or dead."

"Do you wish she was?"

"Sometimes. I…if she was alive, I think I might be upset at her. She hasn't contacted me…I just wish she hadn't left," he said finally.

"So she left your dad?"

"Grandfather says so," he said simply.

"But what do you feel?" she pressed.

"I believe him."

Tenten gaped at him. "What? Why? Your grandpa tells lies about all kinds of things, just to make the clan look good. No offense," she added tackily.

"I've known only my father, okay?" he said. "Think about it—if my mother didn't leave, then my father did. I'd rather not cast him in a bad life, and just leave people in the dark about my family scandal."

"Wow," she whispered. "Thank you."

"For what?" he said, confused.

"For trusting me," she said simply. She had returned her gaze to the treetops.

Neji started to say something, but a raindrop fell on his nose. "It's raining," he stated.

"Yes," Tenten agreed, as the raindrops increased in speed and number.

And because she had to be the cheerful one, she stood and pulled Neji to his feet.

"So let's dance."

For a moment, he stared at her, stunned. Wordlessly, he shook his head. "I don't dance."

"You mean you aren't dancing _yet_." She took his left hand and placed it on her waist, and took his right hand, putting her own on his shoulder. "Just follow my lead," she said simply.

"Tenten—"

"No complaining!" she said, laughing. "Those who say sunshine is happiness have never danced in the rain. And today, Hyuuga Neji, we are going to correct this in you."

He smiled at her, and let her guide him through the simple moves.

"See?" she said, triumphantly. "It's not so bad."

"No," he said. "Not so bad at all. But only because I have the best dancing partner in the world."

"Of course," she said smugly. She rested her head on his shoulder, and gradually, they stopped dancing, and just held onto each other.

"Tenten," he whispered. "Tell me."

"Tell you what?" she asked, feigning innocence.

"Whatever is troubling you," he pressed.

She sighed. "I was just…thinking…about my parents," she added, seeing his look. "You understand, right—it's hard."

He nodded soberly. "It's hard for me, but it must be so much harder for you."

She shrugged. "I'll pull through." The smile she gave him was tight-lipped, but the best she could muster.

"Tenten, I—" Neji stopped, unable to continue.

"What?" she breathed, closing her eyes and pulling closer to his warmth. The rain was so cold, and he was just so warm…

"Never mind," he said. "Don't worry about it."

She didn't say anything, for a moment. "Neji…" she whispered. "One day, I'll tell you…about my parents…" She paused and pressed her face against the warmth of his neck. She pressed her lips against his skin, and then turned her lips towards his ear. "But now…I think…I could love you."

He took in a sharp breath, and whispered, "I think I could love you, too."

Both gave cryptic answers, but they were enough.

Shivering in the rain, they walked together, out of the training field, and into the world.

* * *

An antidote.

Would this work? Was it my fault? Is it my fault she can't remember?

I had the poison senbon. They were meant for him, but she's the one who can't remember.

An antidote.

A poison.

Did it make her forget? We should have tested it more thoroughly. _I_ should have tested it more thoroughly. It was my job to know the effects.

I did this.

She—no, they—can't remember and it's all because of me!

"Sakura?" A soft voice from the door.

"What?" I snap peevishly. "What do you want?"

"Lady Tsunade sent me to tell you that you had to go home tonight," says the quiet girl, afraid of my anger.

"Okay, I will," I lie. If I can't finish this antidote, I'm not ever leaving.

The girl leaves, and I turn my attention back to the scattered items. My gaze falls on a clock, and I realize that it's time to go check on her.

I leave my office and walk down the hall. I catch a glance of myself in a mirror, and realize I look like crap. I tie my hair back, and look a little bit more put together. The bags under my eyes are here to stay.

I do my best to smile as I open the door to Karin's room. "Karin?"

She's reading a book, her eyes slightly narrowed. She looks up when she hears me, and smiles back. "Hello, Sakura."

"How are you feeling today? Any pain?"

"No," she says, watching me. "No new memories, either." She sees me flinch, and wisely says nothing more.

I mark a few things off, and then ask, "Have you been doing your breathing exercises?"

"Yes," she says, nodding.

"Good." I ruffle through some papers. "Here—they took another X-ray of your leg. Soon, you'll be well enough to get crutches."

"Um, Sakura," she says tentatively. "About that. The other nurse said I would be able to go out in a wheelchair today…"

"It looks fine to me," I say. "Is there something in particular you want to see on the grounds?"

She blushes. "Can I see Sasuke?"

Surprise colors my face, but I nod. "If you think that's the best thing."

"What do you mean?" She looks slightly disappointed.

"Well, he doesn't know you don't remember him…" I say. "Also, he's a little…well, for lack of a better word, dopey. The painkillers we give him…well, they make him loopy."

She shrugs. "I'd still like to see him, if that's okay."

I smile at her, hopefully not as false as it was earlier. "Okay. You wait here, and I'll go get the wheelchair." I step out of the room and walk down the hall to find a wheelchair. I find one in the nearest waiting room, and take it back to Karin's room. "Okay, Karin. Let's go." I lift her into the wheelchair, and notice how much weight she's lost.

A poison. An antidote.

Mindlessly, I push her towards the door. Karin pulls me out of my reverie by saying, "Um, normally you have to open the door to go through it. Right? Or am I remembering that wrong?"

"Oops," I mumble, stepping around it to open the door. "Sorry. Thanks." She doesn't reply, just closes her eyes. I wheel her down the hall and into the nearest elevator.

"Can you hit the button for floor two?" I ask. Karin is closer to the controls.

She nods, but glares at the panel, examining each number, before finally choosing floor four.

I freeze. She's forgotten that much? It took forever for her to remember how to speak. But _numbers_?

Then she shakes her head. "No, that's not right…" This time, she chooses the right number, but glances at me for approval. "That one, right?"

I nod, relaxing slightly, and she smiles triumphantly.

The rest of the ride is spent in silence. The door opens when we reach the fourth floor, but Karin says nothing. After a moment, it closes, and we begin our descent again. We arrive at the second floor, and when the doors open, I roll Karin out and down the hall.

We come to the ICU entrance, and Karin draws in a sharp breath. The door is already open, so I just push her through the threshold.

It isn't normal for patients to visit other patients, especially not the ICU patients. Even so, when the nurses on duty see me, they don't comment. I'm third in command at the hospital, and only Tsunade and Shizune have more power. We pass with no obstacles.

When we get to Sasuke, Naruto is already there. "Hey, Naruto," I say quietly. "Is he awake?"

"Unfortunately," Naruto said tiredly. "I was actually about to leave." He notices Karin. "Hey, Karin. Remember anything else?"

"Some numbers," she says.

"Numbers?" Naruto questions. I shake my head quietly, and he says nothing else.

"Karin?" Sasuke tries to sit up. Naruto helps him readjust quickly.

Karin watches him carefully, and then smiles. "You aren't how I remember you."

I look at her in confusion. She doesn't remember him at all, does she?

Sasuke shrugs. "I don't feel different. Except that this is a lot more painful."

Karin laughs. "You're funny. You weren't before."

Sasuke frowns. "That's not very nice."

Karin looks back at me. "Can you move me closer?"

"Yeah," I say. I exchange a confused look with Naruto. He shrugs, but moves so Karin has some room.

"Can I talk to you Sakura?" Naruto asks.

I glance at Karin. "It's fine," she says. "I'll call if I need you."

I nod, and step towards Naruto, a bit away. "What's up?"

He's watching Karin and Sasuke interact. He smiles lightly. "Nothing, really. I just noticed…That's the happiest I've ever seen Sasuke." He shrugs. "Call me crazy, but I don't think it's just because of the painkillers. He hasn't been like this even before."

"You're probably right," I agree. "Also, I think Karin is doing a lot better, too. Before, she had no memories of him, of us, or anything. I was taking her down her in the elevator, and told her to hit two, but she hit four instead. Like she couldn't remember. She remembered it pretty quickly, after that, though."

"Oh, so that's what she meant by remembering numbers," Naruto realizes.

I nod, and then shift uncomfortably. "I'm worried about her, Naruto. She's the only one with amnesia. She and Sasuke weren't supposed to be hurt _this_ badly—only enough that Suigetsu wouldn't notice that they were betraying him." I shifted. "The senbon I had… They were poisoned."

Naruto's eyes widen. "Poison?"

I nod. "I was supposed to hit Suigetsu, in case he didn't die. The poison would have killed him in three days."

"Well, he's gone now. There's nothing to worry about," Naruto says gently, patting my shoulder.

"But, I found one in Karin," I whisper.

A look of panic crosses Naruto's face. He replaces it quickly, though, with a soothing look. "It's been more than three days, and she's still alive. You must not have found a poisoned one."

"But I was the only one with senbons!" I point out.

"Tenten—she uses all sorts of weapons," Naruto says quickly. "What are you trying to get at, anyway? It's been awhile, and she's still breathing."

"Maybe I used the wrong poison," I grumble. "Maybe _that's_ why she can't remember anything."

"Sakura, didn't you perform a check, to make sure there weren't any foreign substances in her body?"

"Of course, but—Wait, when did you get all intelligent?" I snap, suddenly wondering how this conversation was going so smoothly.

Naruto rolls his eyes. "You can't expect me to go my whole life being unable to have an intelligent conversation. What did you expect me to say—'That cloud looks like a butterfly'?" (2)

I stare at him, unsure whether laughing is appropriate or not.

Naruto sighs. "It's okay, I know you think my jokes aren't funny."

Ah, sweet relief—I burst out laughing.

"If you must know," Naruto continues, ignoring my laughter. "I've been talking with Hinata. She's telling me all about Hospital protocol." He shakes his head. "Now listen. Karin's amnesia is not your fault. No antidote is going to make her better, so you are going home tonight." He scratches his head, and then grins. "I'll walk you home, so don't even think about lying to me."

I frown. "Meanie."

He shrugs. "Hey, love hurts." His smile vanishes for a moment, his face darkening. "I've got to go now, but I'll be back when your shift is over. I will hunt you down, so don't even think of hiding." His words are joking, but he's distracted.

"How is she?" I ask.

"Not good. She's just as convinced as you that it's our fault."

"It is our fault, Naruto. What was the point of obliviating all those people?"

He sighs. "Sakura, be honest. If you hadn't met Draco"—I flinch at the name—"then you wouldn't even care."

My face is stony. "But I did meet him. And Hinata did meet Meg."

Naruto sighs, defeated. "All right, I get it. If she hadn't met Meg, Hinata wouldn't be the person she is. _But_, neither would she be upset about this."

I shake my head. "Yes, she would. Hinata is way too compassionate. That's why she's studying here, to help people, not because she's good at the work."

"I'm not going to argue with both of you, and anyway, I have to go. Bye, Sakura."

"Bye, Naruto," I say, shaking my head in amusement. It was strange how fast he could go from arguing to concern. He walks out of the room, leaving me to my thoughts of _that_ person. Under most circumstances, I avoid thinking of him, but now that Naruto has said his name, I can't help myself.

I've tried to move on, but the only thing I seem to be successful at is burying myself in work. Even that doesn't work when someone says his name.

And now Sai. He's run off, leaving me alone. Of course, I know where he is.

He's off in England, chasing a girl who doesn't even remember him. What's he going to do when he gets to Hogwarts, anyway? They won't be there, not now. He's supposed to be the one who thinks things through and never goes against orders!

But…there weren't ever orders not to return. My eyes widen. Maybe he had thought things through, at least about not getting in trouble. I laugh. That sneaky little bugger…

I hummed a song quietly, so as not to disturb the other patients, and waited for Karin to call me.

* * *

"How are you doing, Karin?" Sasuke asked seriously. "You don't seem like yourself, either."

I shrugged. "Don't you know, Sasuke? I have amnesia."

He gave me a blank look. "What do you mean, 'amnesia'?"

"I mean amnesia—loss of memory as a result of shock, injury, psychological disturbance, or medical disorder," I quoted.

"What? How did it happen to you?"

"Sakura won't tell me, but I think it's from shock," I said simply.

"Do you know what shock is?" he asked doubtfully.

"Was I stupid, or something? Of course I do. It's a physiological collapse, marked by a weak pulse, coldness, sweating, and irregular breathing; resulting from a situation such as blood loss, heart failure, allergic reaction, or emotional trauma." I shrugged. "I get bored, and read the medical magazines Sakura leaves in my room. But anyway, I think it was from shock, since I lost a lot of blood. I had to get all these transfusions." I grimaced. "They were still doing that when I woke up."

"Huh," he said. Something seemed to occur to him. "But you remember me."

"Nope," I said.

"What? But you were going on about how different I am," he said in confusion.

"Well, you are different," I said, shrugging.

"How do you know?" he said petulantly.

"I just do." I blushed, but added, "When Sakura told me your name, I remembered feelings. That's all, I don't remember anything about our relationship, if we were just friends or…" My voice trailed off.

Sasuke snorted. "Just friends. Please." He winked at me, and I gaped at him. "No, more than friends. You were like a best friend to me, though, but more."

Something scaly rubbed against me, and I glanced down in shock. A familiar snake was sitting on my lap, resting it's head on my hand.

"Zenaku missed you," Sasuke said cheerfully.

"You're…high, or something," I told him, shaking my head.

* * *

**(1) Like counting sheep.  
(2) Ha, funny story behind this...My best friend and I were talking about what we wanted guys to be like, and she said that they had to be able to carry on an intelligent conversation without saying 'That cloud looks like a butterfly!' It was like two in the morning, so of course it was hilarious, and of course she wasn't thinking about what she was saying. Ha, I love that girl.**

**Anyway, I want you to meet a very special friend of mine. His name is review button. Say hi to review button. (All: Hi, review button) Review button, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself. (Review button: Well, my friends call me RB…And when people click on me, a little window pops up, and people can leave what they liked about the chapter, or what they didn't like. They can type constructive criticism, or destructive, if they like. Whatever they feel like the chapter needs. Then, when they've submitted their review, my friend Broadband takes the message to you, IBG-chan.) That's great RB! Well, everyone, you know what to do! Click on RB! Type how you feel, and hit 'submit review'! Thank you!! **

**Respectfully,  
IBG-chan**

**P.S. This was like...21 pages long. That is _insane_ for me! I write about 10 pages normally, but 21? Out of the question! Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. (Realize that this is nearly 10,000 words! Okay, so more like 9,220)**


	11. Ch8: Acceptance

Thanks, first of all, to all who reviewed…but this chapter is especially for my nonmember reviewers—WarriorAngel (who said last chapter was super-special-awesome and long) and Crazed Gaara Fangirl (who made me feel good…and split my sides laughing).  
If you haven't noticed, I tend to give each character a different tense (present, past). Before, Patricia's was in past, but I decided that from now on she'll be in present tense…I feel like it fits her as a vampire better.

* * *

First Date by Blink 182

* * *

**Chapter 8 – Acceptance**

* * *

"Trish…Patricia."

I glance up, and see my dad. My vision feels a little fuzzy, so I squint a little, but I can see him well enough.

"Come on. You have to eat something, or you won't be able to sleep." The concern on his face is evident, even in my blurred state of mind.

Confused, I ask, "Um…Dad? What am I supposed to eat?"

He doesn't answer, just turns down the dark hallway. I follow him, and see with relief that the dark makes my vision a little clearer. It's still as though I need glasses, though, so I walk very carefully.

He leads me to the kitchen and opens the refrigerator. The scent of blood hits my nose, and I remember the bloody meat from earlier. It's not quite as captivating as the scent of Meg and Sai in the adjacent rooms, but it's so close… The nearness of it makes it so much more pungent, so much stronger.

Dad turns, the meat held in his hands. He ignores the blood that stains his hands as I snatch it from him, practically inhaling it. Before, the thought of eating raw meat would have disgusted me, but the meat just adds more flavor to the blood.

"It's not as good as human blood," he admits, "but it helps to have it around. A familiar can't lose as much blood as you'll need, at least, not right now."

I nod, and lick the blood off of my fingers.

I've never thought about it before, drinking blood. I never wondered how it tasted, or if it was particularly nourishing. Like anyone else, I've lost baby teeth and tasted the blood in my mouth, but I don't remember it tasting like _this_.

I'd always thought it was metallic and rusty tasting, a little gross, but not really terrible.

But now…the cold blood was slowly sliding down my throat, delightfully hesitating on my tongue, rolling around my mouth.

Delicious…not rusty at all. Sweet, almost, but not exactly. instinctively, I know that warm blood will taste better, and I'm eager to try some. But later—I'm no longer hungry.

I realize that I can see clearly—even more than clearly. It's so strange, but I'm seeing things I never would have seen before. The painting in the corner—it's suddenly clear which colors the artist mixed to make the colors appearing on the canvas.

As if he knows what I'm thinking—and perhaps he does—Dad speaks. "The average human has 20/20 vision. While the blood you've drunk is in your system, you'll have better than that—20/15. As it leaves, your vision gradually decreases…if you go long enough, it could be 20/200." He smiles wryly. "We aren't always invincible."

"Were we ever invincible?" I murmur. The blood has left my mouth, and I miss it.

He grimaces. "No. Never. The craving for blood never truly leaves, I'm sorry to say. For a moment after you've fed, you feel full, but it doesn't take long to want more…"

I feel what he's saying coming true as I listen to him. The hunger is returning, though I know I'll be sustained on what I've drunk.

"When you take a familiar, you'll have to know his limits. A person can donate significant amounts of plasma twice a week, but red blood cells can only be donated at a rate of 550 milliliters every 36 days. I'm not exactly sure which part of the blood appeals so much to us, or if we desire whole blood. If it were just plasma, or even just platelets…it would be easier…" Dad pauses, and looks me right in the eyes. "So it is imperative that you have this meat source around the house. It is possible to take more frequent, but smaller feedings, if that suits you better. As you won't need quite as much blood after the initial feedings, this is a good idea. Right now, you need about 300 milliliters a week, but eventually, you'll need only 100." (1)

I run my fingers through my hair and huff. "That's relieving, I guess." Calculating quickly, I assess the situation. "So when it's 100 a week, I'll be able to feed only from the familiar. Before then, though, I'll need a lot of meat."

Dad nods. "Still, the 550 milliliters is just an average for a healthy adult male. If the familiar is less than healthy, he won't be able to donate as often."

"But…wanderers. They drain entire humans—why?"

"The amount of blood you take determines how long you're sustained. You don't need a full human, that's just what you crave."

I grimace. "How will I know when I've taken enough? I mean, what if I can't tell…" In a panic, I lean forward, reaching for him.

He catches me quickly. "Don't worry—it's all about acclimation. Eat only the meat everyday, and by the time you only need 100 milliliters, you'll know exactly how much you need. Wanderers don't bother to acclimate—or I guess they do, since they drain whole humans on a regular basis. Much more often than they need to, but enough that they can't tell when they've had enough."

"Acclimation…huh." I look down at my feet, so pale in the light that comes in gently from between the curtains. It turns the room light blue, softening the harsh edges I see so clearly with the fresh blood in my system.

My father's face is clearly defined in my new eyes, and I suddenly realize that he's not quite so young looking as I've thought before. I can see shadows under his eyes that I've never noticed before. He looks tired and middle-aged.

In awe, I realize exactly how much more I can see. I walk around our kitchen, noticing faults that weren't visible to my less than perfect eyes.

I come to the sink and see the grime that would be invisible to me at any other time. I reach for the curtains lifting one gently—

I lurch back as I hear a scream of pain. I cover my eyes, gasping, and realize that I was the one who'd screamed. My eyes feel like they're burning out of their sockets.

There's a flurry of motion around me—every one has was awakened by my scream. I realize dimly that I'm huddled in the corner, and that my eyes are open—

I can't see I can't see I can't see

—But the vision I had only a moment before is gone. All that I see is darkness, heavy, heavy darkness…

"Back away! She—" My father's voice, choking off. "I would have stopped you but—"

And then…a light at the end of the tunnel, piercing through the darkness. I rock back, stunned. I'm tottering, about to collapse—

Someone catches me before my back hits the ground. Someone warm, someone human, someone who smells _delicious_…

And then it's over. I'm breathing at a normal rate; my anxiety is gone. I see, and I relax. I tilt my head back and see Sai, peering down at me, his mouth moving as though he's speaking.

Is he speaking? I hear nothing—he's not the only one who's silent, everyone is. My eyes dart around the room, gazing at everyone. They're all speaking but I can't hear—

I gasp and clamp my hands over my ears. They're speaking now, and much too _loudly_.

The sound fades again, to a normal level. I breathe. I sit up slowly, and turn to rest my back against the wall. My eyes have fallen involuntarily on Sai. He's watching me surreptitiously from the corner of his eyes, as though _he_ can't keep his gaze away either. He looks away when he realizes he's been caught, but I keep watching him.

With my enhanced vision, I see him clearer. In a way he's more beautiful, but I can see the faults, too. His hair is not quite black, I realize, but a dark, dark brown. His skin is even paler than I'd thought before, though not as pale as mine. I see that he, too, is tired. Probably my fault.

Without thinking about it, I trace the barely-there circles under his eyes. Startled, he glances at me. We stare at each other. I can't look away, and nor can he. This time, though, I don't mind.

"So…does someone want to explain to me what's going on?" Meg's voice cuts through our reverie. Startled, I glance at her, and then towards my father.

"Dad?"

He shrugs. "The light was too intense for your eyes. Everything you do now will require you to acclimate. Normally you have a year, starting when you're seventeen—that's when the vampirism starts to spike—but your case is quite obviously special… You've been changed after eighteen, so I'm not quite sure…" His voice trails off. "We need sleep. Everyone…"

At my father's command, the others leave the room, followed shortly by my father.

I don't move, neither does Sai. My eyes meet his again, and I move so that the line of my body is pressed against his. I rest my head on his shoulder, and he rests his head on mine.

For a moment, it's quiet, and I listen to his heartbeat, to the sound of his blood pumping, and to the sound of his lungs filling and emptying themselves of air. Beautiful, like a symphony, almost.

I feel compelled to speak, suddenly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he murmurs. His voice has a nice quality, sort of restful. I want him to keep talking, so I can hear more of it.

"Do you even know what I'm apologizing for?" I whisper, slightly amused.

"No," he admits. "But it doesn't change my answer."

"I love you," I say. My voice is hopeless and fragile. I'm scared that I've dreamed it all, and that he didn't really profess his love for me a few minutes ago. Or worse, that I've dreamed the whole thing, and he isn't even here.

"I know," he says.

"But I'm scared," I admit.

"Why?" he asks, not understanding. We aren't looking at each other, but he wraps an arm around my waist. I shiver at the contact.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You aren't now," he points out.

I ponder this. It's true: the bloodlust isn't as strong as it was before, presumably because I just ate. "But it won't always be this way."

"I'm very willing to let you hurt me, but only if I can see you every day, every night…" he says wryly.

"But I don't want to hurt you," I mutter petulantly.

"If I recall correctly, we've already had this argument."

I sigh. "That makes it no less relevant."

"I'm not letting you bite anyone else."

His words bring me to a halt. "Wha—"

"You think I want you to have that kind of relationship with someone? That I want someone else to be complete dependant on you and vice versa? Is that what _you_ want?"

My mouth pops open. "I…hadn't thought about it that way."

"I really am your best option," he says simply. "Besides…it's obvious you can't resist me…at least not for too long."

I allow him this, and tilt my head back to kiss his cheek. Warm, alive, _delicious_… "No," I agree. "Not for long at all."

Sleep welcomes us soon after, hopefully preparing us for the new day that was fast approaching…

* * *

August 2, 2000 (2)

"Well…what are we going to do?"

We're sitting in my dimly lit room when Meg finally voices the question. Sai is sitting next to me on my bed, holding my hand. Meg sits across the room, in a chair. I exchange a glance with Sai, and he shrugs.

"I don't think it's safe for me to leave," I admit. And I didn't want to see Draco right now—I still can't believe I've directed attention towards him…I squeeze Sai's hand, attempting to reassure myself that he's real. He smiles at me.

"Well," Sai says hesitantly, "Meg could go back."

He's been showing hesitance when it comes to helping Draco remember. I'm pretty sure he's trying to avoid more trouble back home in Konoha, the village he comes from.

"That's a good idea," I murmured, tracing patterns on the back of his hand. I feel his eyes on me and glance at him. Smiling, I duck my head.

Across the room, Meg looks faintly sick…or envious. A mixture of both, perhaps. She shakes herself, and nods. "Yeah. A good idea, I guess. More like the only idea." She paused, and then sticks her tongue out. "You owe me."

I grin. "You got it. I promise not to eat your babies."

She rolls her eyes. "Gee, thanks."

"Hey," I counter. "You should be glad—I could get really hungry while I'm babysitting. I hear babies are a vampire delicacy…"

"Remind me never to let you babysit," Meg says, disgusted. "Not that this even applies…at least not for a few years…"

"Making plans?" I ask, wiggling my eyebrows.

"Perv." Shaking her head, she says, "I'm going to apparate now, so please be quiet…" She closes her eyes and wrinkles her forehead in concentration.

"Does closing your eyes help?" I whisper loudly.

"Shut _up_!" she hisses. As though to prove something, she opens her eyes to glare at me, and proceeds to apparate.

"Huh. Good thing she didn't splinch," I comment to Sai.

He smiles and ruffles my hair. "Someone's in a good mood today."

"Not Meg," I say with a grin. More thoughtfully, I add, "But yeah, I am. I keep thinking that it's a dream—that you're not really here, and I'm imagining this."

"I'm here," he says, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "Nothing could pull me away." A smile tugs at his lips. "Even if it could, I'm sure you'd be strong enough to pull me back."

I laugh, and intertwine my fingers with his. We fall into silence, as usual. It's never uncomfortable, but just as easy as speaking. Another meaning to Meg's question occurs to me, though, and I have to break the silence.

"Sai…what _are_ we going to do?"

He frowns, contemplating this. "You mean about Konoha? I don't know. I'll help Meg and Draco get back, but I don't know what will happen if I do go back. Will I be thrown in prison? Killed? I don't know."

"I'm not going to let you die," I mutter crossly. "You aren't getting away from me that easily."

He tosses his head back and laughs. "Funny how you were so set on staying away from only two days ago." More seriously, he adds, "I won't go back if they do want to kill me. I wouldn't leave you, no matter what."

"Good," I say. Hesitantly, "I don't think we can go just yet, anyway. It wouldn't be safe, in the state I currently am."

"That's fine. I like it here, anyway. We can stay as long as you wish…" He brushed a piece of my hair out of my face and kissed my cheek.

I stiffen slightly at his closeness. The scent of his blood is a bit strong, though still a nice scent.

He pulls away, understanding. "Sorry. If I think it's safe to go back—and I won't really know—they might try to hurt you, too…"

I shake my head slightly. "If you think it's safe…I'll trust you."

* * *

Draco had never been one to bite his nails, but as he paced in the kitchen of his home, his nails were down to the nubs. Of course, he wasn't one for pacing either.

He had no idea why he was panicking, but there he was…panicking. He hummed tunelessly, and tried to distract himself.

It had been a day since he'd received the letter from Meg, and he'd received no more word from them.

Were they dead? Injured? Sick? Insane?? What was he supposed to do in the meantime? Eat crumpets?

The veritaserum wasn't going to expire or anything, but he felt as though he would go _mad_ if he didn't _do_ something soon. Malfoys did not just sit around and sip weak tea.

Groaning, he started washing the dishes. He never washed the dishes—the house elves did. As it was, they were fluttering about around him, set off by their master's mood.

"Surely…" Manny started, but then stopped. He'd already offered to do something for his master, but had been rebuked—and then apologized to. Confused as he was about the mixed messages he was receiving, he still thought it best not to offer anything again.

It didn't take long for Draco to get fed up with the menial task set before him. Cursing, he muttered a cleaning spell and stormed out of the room. He paused at the doorway. "Manny," he said crossly, "Please put the dishes away."

Manny nodded, somewhat relieved. He turned to the other elves. "You heard Master—quickly, now!"

Not quite knowing what else to do, Draco headed up the stairs to his potion room. Nothing distracted him more than making a potion.

He entered the room and began rifling through the books, looking for something simple to make. Choosing a simple recipe, he headed over to his ingredient cabinet, only to see a book open on the table nearby. He dimly remembered Meg and Patricia looking through it feverishly a few days ago.

Well, mostly Meg. Patricia would wander over and peer over Meg's shoulder whenever there was a lull in the potion making. She'd murmur something quietly and point to something on the pages. Meg would look up at her gratefully and then return to her reading.

Curious, he strolled over to the book. He didn't like it when people left things out—he preferred an immaculately clean house—and most of the time, Meg had remembered to put the book away at the end of the day. In fact, he couldn't remember a single time she hadn't. She must have been flustered the day she left it out.

Words jumped off the page as he drew near. Surprised, he leaned forward.

"There have been many a hypothesis, but only a few have been tested. Half-breeds tend to desire privacy when it comes to their genetic structure and lifestyle…" he read aloud. Confused, he flipped back a page and found the heading for the current selection. "Vampire half-breeds," he read. Why would Meg and Patricia be interested in that? He wondered. Turning back to the page he'd discovered, he read the article quickly.

As he read the last word, his hand fell from the page to hang by his side. He'd come to a stunning conclusion, and it was only confirmed when Meg waltzed into the room, saying, "Oh, there you are, Draco—Oh. You weren't supposed to—Crap." She snatched the book from him. "I knew I'd forgotten something." She left the room, putting the book back on the shelf in our library.

Stunned, he followed her. "Meg, is Patricia—" At this point she turned to face him. "—half-vampire?"

Meg raised an eyebrow. "Where did you get that idea?"

"The book," he said helplessly.

"Oh, that." She shrugged. "Just a bit of light reading." She had a small smile on her face as she said that, perhaps a memory from a previous conversation.

His eyes narrowed. "But—why would you be reading that?"

"I stumbled across it while I was researching charms. Memory charms, to be specific," she said with a shrug.

"How—"

"Don't ask me!" she said, throwing her hands up, as if to plead innocence. "I didn't exactly organize the Wizard Dewey Decimal System…or whatever you call it."

"Where've you been, anyway?" Draco asked, seeing that he would get no farther in this discussion.

"Trish's house," she said simply.

"New nickname?" he asked grudgingly. He didn't have a nickname…well; actually, seeing as he wasn't 'Malfoy' anymore, that was something…

"Yep," she said, a girl of many words, as usual.

Exasperated, he realized that he'd have to drag everything out of her. He sighed. "Does she remember now?"

"Yep."

"How?" he asked, curious.

She grinned. "That's for her to tell you." They had returned to the potions room. "So, are you ready, Freddy?"

"Freddy?" he muttered questioningly. Shaking his head, he asked, "What am I supposed to be ready for? Or are you asking an imaginary friend?"

She frowned at him. "Please. I haven't had an imaginary friend since…last month…" She shrugged, and regained her pleasant attitude. "Anyway, are you ready to take the veritaserum?"

The breath flew out of him. "Oh, right." Anticipation and adrenaline started rushing through his veins. "Yes."

"Good," she said cheerfully. "We haven't got all day, you know. Now go get the potion."

He took the necessary amount—not much. Only enough to get the truth spilling from his mouth.

"Are you ready?"

He considered, and then answered truthfully. "I don't know."

She smiled slightly, understanding. "Has the veritaserum taken effect?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now, tell me what happened last year, from September to the end of October."

Draco waited for the words to come, and then began speaking.

* * *

(Juugo)

Married. She was married.

And he…well, he was…dead. Sort of—it was more like he was caught between life and death. He wondered why he was still here.

Could he move on to somewhere else? There was always that question.

But, then again, even if it were possible, would he want to? There was always that _problem_.

He watched her sleeping form, laying next to Haku's…the snow…he sighed.

It hurt to watch her with someone else, so he turned away, gazing at the sky. For the first time he could remember, she hadn't spoken to him before sleeping. He wondered if this would become a common practice.

Sighing, he again contemplated the idea of leaving. She was leaving him…why couldn't he get on with his life…er…death?

He knew the answer, of course—he was hopelessly obsessed with everything she did. All of her mannerisms, the way she looked at people, the way _she_ looked…

He couldn't give up, not just yet.

So he stayed, and returned his gaze to the window, watching her dream.

* * *

(1) Let's talk about the whole blood conversation. As far as I know, the donation numbers are correct. As for the amount of blood she needs…probably unrealistic (okay, it was unrealistic when I threw vampires in here, but we'll ignore that.)…But I need the numbers to be this way for the story to work. So suck it up…no pun intended.  
(2) Two days later. (And consequently, eight years before the release of Big Disappointment—I mean, Breaking Dawn.)  
By the way, guys! If you're a fan of Stephenie Meyer, go check out **Support Stephenie Meyer** by **TotalEclipseX**. If you've heard about the Midnight Sun leak, then you know she needs our support!  
This chapter was pretty lighthearted...at least until the end. Juugo always makes me feel sort of sad...he has a sort of stalkerish/obsessive love that can never be...I'm just trying to figure out how to resolve it. If you have ideas, I'm willing...  
REVIEW!!


	12. Ch9: Journeying Part I

**Happy Halloween! I would have waited a bit longer, but I figured I'd give y'all a treat rather than a trick. I decided to break the chapter in half, because who really wants to read 25 pages in one setting? (Other than me, of course) So here is a still-twelve-page long chapter for you guys! I've already go quite a bit of the other chapter done, so it should be up fairly soon!  
Listen to some Sweeny Todd music--it really sets the mood for Halloween. Especially the Ballad of ST, you know, the one that didn't make it into the movie.

* * *

Half-Alive by Secondhand Serenade**

**Sunsets and Car Crashes by The Spill Canvas** (Such a beautiful song. You MUST listen to it.)

* * *

**Chapter 9: Journeying Part I**

* * *

**(Draco)**  
I felt the words slip from my lips, bringing back the memories. Ah, the sweet memories. It was hard to believe anything had ever forced these memories to leave me, yet something had. As I remembered, it became apparent why we'd been charmed.

The powers these people had—for I'd never learned of who they were exactly—could not be common knowledge. I understood perfectly.

Inwardly, I was embarassed at some of the things I said. On the outside, I appeared to be uncaring—an effect of the veritaserum.

"…and then we were all gathered in the Great Hall…I remember standing in line for…something; Sakura wouldn't tell me what. At the front of the line, when I get there, Sakura started bawling. I didn't want her to feel bad; I didn't want her to cry. And then he charmed me—And then everything faded to black. The next day, everyone was gone—Sakura, her friends…the memories. But I didn't know—I just went to class, feeling emptier than I ever had before. I had potions first, and that day we worked on—"

"That's okay, you can stop there," Meg said quickly, obviously not keen to hear about my potions class. She must have been frustrated, with all the unimportant details that I recalled.

I quit talking, utterly subservient.

She sighed, and then stood, stretching. "I'm hungry," she commented, and then left the room. When I didn't follow, she poked her head back into the room. "Are you coming?"

The truth came unbidden from my lips. "No, I'm not currently coming."

She rolled her eyes, and muttered something about a smart donkey, and how no one liked him. "Well, come on."

I followed her, since, admittedly, I was hungry, as well. Also because the veritaserum made me very trusting, and I was willing to do anything someone might ask me by this point.

Meg entered the kitchen and moved around it like she owned the place. She knew where everything was, and didn't even bother calling the elves. Within a few minutes, she had the stove running with water boiling. She poured some sort of pasta—rigatoni I think—into the boiling water and set a timer. Next, she opened a can of spaghetti sauce and poured it into another pan. She set a burner on low and placed the second pan on top of it.

I watched in astonishment—I lived here, and I knew where nothing was in the kitchen.

When the timer buzzed, she picked up a strainer and poured the water out of the pasta. She caught all the loose rigatonis with the strainer, and then grabbed two plates. After she spooned out some of the pasta, she plopped one in front of me, along with a Parmesan cheese dispenser.

I must have been gaping at her, because she looked at me sort of strangely before she went to get some garlic salt. After applying her cheese and garlic, she smiled at me widely and said, "Eat up. You look starved—what _have_ those house elves been feeding you?"

I just shook my head before picking up the fork she'd given me and stabbing a few rigatonis. Chewing thoughtfully, I watched her eat some of her own food. She seemed anxious about something, so I asked, "What's wrong?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing." But she sounded distracted and worried.

I sensed she wouldn't tell me anymore, so I changed the subject. "So…what exactly made you interested in the idea of half-breeds? I mean, I know you just stumbled across it, but you must have been interested…"

She glanced at me warily. "I don't know…the title just jumped out at me."

"…Really…" I said doubtfully.

"Really," she agreed honestly.

I pursed my lips. "If you say so…"

She shrugged, and popped pasta in her mouth, signaling that this conversation was over.

* * *

**(Meg)**

"You're not coming with us?" I asked, surprised.

Sai shook his head. "I'm not leaving Trish." He looked at her tenderly, and I couldn't help but soften up at the simple love that shone in his eyes.

"All right…"

Draco, still in the dark about some things, seemed confused by this. "Why can't you come, Trish?" He'd picked up on the nickname when it became clear she preferred it.

I grimaced. "Well, that wouldn't be…" I trailed off, watching Trish with concern.

Her grip on Sai's hand tightened, and I saw him glance at her worriedly. Her eyes were wide, as though they were windows, thrust open. She seemed to stare at something behind me, above my right shoulder.

Without thinking, I glanced behind me, but saw only the pale mint green paint on the wall. The color was new, chosen to mute the brightness that she now naturally saw.

Sai reacted more rationally, I suppose, and twisted her to face him. He grabbed her upper arms tightly. He held her eyes, onyx to silver and gold. "Trish," he said sternly, "Relax. Breathe." Without waiting for her response, he pulled her against him, and whispering in her ear. He spoke softly, so that Draco and I could hear the whispery quality of his voice, but not the words he said.

By now, I was reacting more like a cat faced with a dog. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I froze, staring at them. As Trish relaxed, so too did I, but I still watched her carefully.

Upon recovering, she stood and excused herself.

Sai shrugged apologetically as she exited the room. Of course, she could still hear us, but it gave Draco some show of normalcy. "She started having panic attacks," He explained to me quietly. "A few minutes after you left… She had several after that, as well. I wouldn't be quite so worried, but she's been getting them so frequently… I guess it's a side-effect of…her condition," he finished quietly, casting a glance at Draco.

"I'm guessing no one's going to tell me," Draco said ruefully.

I watched him carefully, unsure of how much he'd figured out from reading that book. "You guess right," I said softly. On both accounts, I added in my thoughts. But then, it wasn't my place to tell him anything.

For a brief second, we fell into silence, until Trish brushed by me, her t-shirt brushing against my arm. I jumped, briefly feeling confusion as my mind raced to catch up with my body's desire to run. My skin crawled, and my legs twitched, ready for flight. Firmly, I held still, and Trish glanced at me apologetically. I shrugged, feigning nonchalance, though I was thoroughly shaken.

She settled down next to Sai, resting her head on his shoulder. Wordlessly, he took her hand, as though to reassure her that he was there, and he was going nowhere.

As soon as her hand was safely in his, Sai continued as though he'd not been interrupted. "I'm pretty sure the most important question is where you want to go."

"To Gaara and Sakura," I said. Draco nodded, but said nothing.

"Well of course," Sai said simply. "That much will be simple—the problem is that they're in different places. Sakura is in Konoha, where I come from, and Gaara is in Suna, another village. They're about two days from each other. Well, possibly three."

I frowned. "Can't I be sent to Gaara and Draco to Sakura? It seems as though that would be simpler."

"Simpler," Sai agreed. "But not quite safer. I don't want you two to be separated."

"Your concern is flattering," I said dryly, "But I think I can handle myself."

Sai shook his head firmly. "It's a different world. Combat is physical, and a semblance of magical. While I'm sure you could incapacitate one shinobi, I doubt it would be possible to stop more than one. Besides that, I don't know if your magic would work in Konoha."

"Bollocks," I muttered crossly. "Your jutsus work here." Trish had explained a few things to me, with Sai's help. She'd had more knowledge than I during their stay.

"Yes," Sai said patiently, "But it might not work the other way."

I resisted the urge to petulantly stick my tongue out, and turned to Draco instead. He was gazing dreamily at nothing, and I realized that he wasn't even paying attention to our conversation. "Draco," I murmured, and he started.

"Oops. Sorry. I don't think we should be separated, either—Sai's right."

Drat. He'd been listening enough to catch that tidbit. I groaned. "Alright, I suppose it would be safer."

Sai smiled, obviously pleased that I'd given in so gracefully. "Well…I think it might be best if you went to Gaara first. He's the leader of his village, and he could protect you better than Sakura could." He paused, and added, "Sorry, Drake."

Draco cocked an eyebrow. "Drake?"

Sai just shrugged.

"Um. Gaara's the best choice?" I asked with some trepidation. As much as I wanted to see him, I was a bit scared. True, he'd kissed me, told me he'd die for me, but what did that really mean? That he saw me as a best friend, a sister? I wasn't really sure what the customs were back in Suna. Maybe it was normal to kiss loosely, and promising to die for someone was just a way of conveying utmost respect.

Even if he had meant it as something more, there was no way to know if he still felt the same. As they say, out of sight, out of mind.

I was suddenly terrified that I would return to him, and to discover his feelings differed from mine.

Even as all these thoughts raced through my head, I knew that I still wanted—no, needed—to see him. I shrunk away from the idea of never seeing him again, my heart stuttering and my chest growing tight.

"It would appear that way," Sai said simply. He watched me, obviously not understanding why I'd suddenly grown so solemn.

Trish watched me, as well, and when I met her eyes, she seemed to show understanding. She smiled reassuringly. "Tell me later," she mouthed, and I nodded to show her I would.

"Draco?" Sai asked.

"Sure," he muttered. He seemed somewhat dejected that he wouldn't see Sakura as soon as he'd planned, but also relieved that we were finally doing something.

"Well, then," Sai said, "It's decided. You can go tomorrow…"

* * *

**(Still Meg)**  
Trish was interesting to watch when she ate. She'd randomly stand up and head to the kitchen, grab a slice of meat, in all it's bloody glory, and practically swallow it whole.

I nearly lost my own lunch the first time I watched her. But I needed to talk to someone about my fears, and she was my best option. Since my other best friend was somewhere I wouldn't get to until the next day, Trish was the one I came to.

After she'd cleaned the blood off of her fingers, she smiled at me, and gestured to the table.

I sat down across from her, and hid my face with my hands. "I feel like an idiotic, lovesick…I don't know, puppy."

I didn't move, but I could practically picture her raising one of her perfect eyebrows, as she said, "Care to explain?"

"Well, maybe that's not exactly what it is. I'm scared. I'm scared that Gaara doesn't like me anymore, or that he never did. He kind of left on short notice, you know? How am I supposed to know if I'm not just wasting my time…my life?" Voicing the fears was worse than just thinking them—somehow, that made them more solid. I looked up, waiting for her reaction.

"You're not," she murmured. "Firstly, he does love you—I remember the look he used to have in his eyes, every time he saw you. And don't you know—distance makes the heart grow fonder. Or at least more desperate," she admitted with a chuckle. "In any case, if he doesn't love you, you never know what could happen when you go somewhere new. Maybe you'll find something…or someone…new."

I sighed. "That's what I'm trying to tell myself. That he still cares—if he ever did. But…"

"I know," she said. "I was terrified when you told me Sai was here, and that he wanted to talk to me. How was I supposed to know he wouldn't be simply telling me that he didn't like me as anything more than a friend? I know I played my anxiety off as being afraid I'd eat him, but truthfully, I was afraid of his rejection."

"But I knew Sai liked you…with Gaara…it's so hard to tell."

"Well, take it from me," she grinned. "I am absolutely positive that Gaara is irrevocably and hopelessly in love with you, and he's probably pining to death about right now."

I smiled at her slightly. I was still unconvinced, but sensing she wouldn't give me any other answer. I changed the subject. "So…you and Sai seem a lot closer…and proximity doesn't seem to be an issue anymore."

"Yeah, well, you know what they say about panic attacks—they really bring a family together."

"They say that? Weird. But you're a family now? That's cute." I laughed as she blushed, stuttering out a denial.

Sai poked his head in the room. "What are you two giggling about? Not me, I hope."

Of course, this only made me laugh harder, and Trish ducked her head. Sai just shook his head.

I decided to let Trish off the hook. "Well," I said, stretching my arms above my head, "It'll be a long day tomorrow…better hit the sack." And I really was tired…

Trish nodded gratefully, standing and crossing the room to hug Sai tightly. "'Night, Meg."

"'Night, Trish." I headed out to the guest room that Trish's parents had insisted I move into and collapsed on the bed. I rolled over and stared at the ceiling. I tried to distract myself by counting hippogriffs, but to no avail. All I could think of was Gaara. Before, this had been a routine, rather pleasant task. But now, all I could think was that he didn't love me anymore.

My heart wrenched a final time, before my lack of rest caught up with me, and I slept soundly.

* * *

**(Gaara)**  
It was a routine day.

I went into the office at five o'clock, awake since…well, the previous day. As usual, I hadn't slept. I tried to chip away just a bit of the pile of paperwork sitting on my desk—to no avail, as was usual.

Around noon, Temari came in to bug me until I agreed to go to lunch. I was silent as I sat with her and Kankuro, as they chatted and laughed easily, as usual.

On the bright side, I hadn't cried yet.

I ate some sort of food…maybe it was sushi? I couldn't be sure. For all I knew, it could have been onigiri. I did know that it had rice in it…which really narrowed the possibilities of what it could have been.

I waited patiently for Temari to dismiss me, so that I could get back to the paperwork. It was pretty much the only thing I had going for me currently. Honestly, without paperwork, what would I do with my life? Not much…

So I left gratefully when I was allowed to leave. I could feel her sad eyes on my back as I retreated to my office. Sisterly concern, I supposed, and brushed it off. It wasn't like I wasn't used to it.

And then the strange things began happening.

First, I saw Usagi. That itself wasn't weird, but when she saw me, she darted away. As far as I knew, that was the only time she'd seen me and not come up to me to bug me. Shrugging, I brushed the incident off. I continued to my office as though it hadn't happened.

Of course it didn't end there.

When I made it back to the tower, my secretary had a message for me. "Thanks," I muttered, taking the paper from her. I was continuing to my office, when I heard her clear her throat. "Hmm?" I asked, turning back to her.

"Well," she murmured, embarrassed. "She…she asked that you read it right away."

Thoroughly confused now, I asked, "Who sent me this message?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "She asked me not to tell you. But I know who it is, and you know her, too. She's a kunoichi here, so you shouldn't be concerned…"

I wrinkled my forehead, and glanced down at the note in my hands. I glanced back at her, and said, "You're sure…" She nodded. Shrugging, I took a seat in the waiting area, and opened the note directed away from me. When nothing blew up or blew white powder at me, I carefully turned it around.

It was coded. Lovely. I'd always hated cryptoquotes, but with a sigh, I attempted translation.

"Jltg gl hdy. Vghd rg ha exeprhdlr—lgs." It was signed with a crude drawing of a bunny.

So, Usagi had sent it, I thought wryly. Strange of her to run away, but then send me a note. But then, this was Usagi we were talking about.

"Maybe an 'i'," I mused, replacing all the 'g's with 'i's. Now it read "Jlti il hdy. Vihd ri ha exeprhdlr – lis." I thought about it, and then erased it. What two letter word ended with 'i'?

"So…an 'o'," I tried again. That looked a bit more realistic, I decided, but didn't expect anything. I struggled for a few more minutes, replacing 'd's with 'e's and 'l's with 'n's. "Jnto on hey. Vohe ro ha exeprhenr – los." I muttered angrily, cursing Usagi's disability to just come tell me whatever it was.

Several minutes later, the message read "Info on hey. Vohe ro ha exeprhenr – nos."

"Ah," I mumbled. "Now." I replaced the 's' in the last word with a 'w'. "A 't'?" I mumbled, exchanging the 'r's for 't's.

My secretary watched my heated mumblings carefully, unsure if she should call for help. Of course, I, the Kazekage, wouldn't accept help on something that should have been so simple.

"Info on hey. Vohe to ha exepthent – now."

"Info on what?" I wondered. "And there must be some more vowels. Perhaps the 'a' is…" I briefly went through the vowels. I'd used 'o', 'e', and 'i'. That left 'a', 'u', and maybe 'y'. I doubted that 'u' would have been used, but I didn't rule it out.

I couldn't think of any two letter word that ended with 'a' or 'u', so I tentatively placed a 'y' in it's spot. If that was right, the 'h' would be an 'm'—for 'my'.

"Info on mey. Vome to my exeptment – now."

"Come," I comprehended, changing the 'v' to a 'c'. I mulled over the remaining puzzle. "Maybe…'apartment'?"

"Info on mey. Come to my apartment – now."

And then my heart constricted as I realized what the 'y' could be. A 'g'? I hardly dared to hope. Without realizing it, I had gotten to my feet. Stunned, I walked to the wastebasket next to the secretary's desk. I shredded the paper, and turned around, my feet already planning on carrying me to Usagi's apartment.

I paused at the door and turned to my secretary. "If I get any more messages…well, you know what to do."

The next thing I knew, I was knocking on Usagi's door. In a daze, I realized that I couldn't remember my walk over at all.

Usagi opened the door and smiled. "What took you so long?" she asked as she yanked me into the apartment. She slammed the door behind me and pointed silently to the hallway.

I gave her a confused look, but walked down the hallway into the backroom. I could feel her breathing behind me—she was practically vibrating with excitement.

And causing me to hope. I tried to stop myself, but I couldn't help but pray that she truly had some information about Meg. After all, if I couldn't be with her, I could at least know she was okay.

Even as I thought this, I knew it wouldn't be enough. Of course I loved her, and I'd left her because I had to—I did have a duty. That didn't change the fact that I wanted her beside me. Needed her beside me. Knowing that she was well would **never** be enough.

I'd had to leave, but that hadn't stopped the pain. Her eyes…oh, her eyes. The utter horror and fear I'd seen in them was enough to break anyone's heart. But naturally that wasn't the end of my own shattering heart. She'd blasted the remains of my most vital organ into dust with the last emotion I remembered seeing in her eyes.

Trust.

And then they were blank, and she fell into a temporary coma. Enough that I could carry her back to her room, lay her to rest, kiss her cheek, and vanish.

No, I couldn't merely know that she was all right. I had to regain that trust, but this time without the horror, without the fear.

Then I sighed. I was getting ahead of myself. No doubt I'd interpreted the message Usagi had sent incorrectly.

Apparently I was walking to slow for Usagi's tastes, so she pushed ahead of me and pulled me down the hall. She thrust a door open and turned to me with a smile. "Ready?" she asked.

"As I'll ever be," I agreed genially. I had set myself up for disappointment, I realized, and prepared myself as best I could, before Usagi pulled me into the room.

And then I nearly fainted. Surely this couldn't be happening—this girl I saw sitting in the chair, with some boy next to her…she wasn't **real**, she was a hallucination! And she certainly wasn't Meg!

And then this sweet illusion—Meg, my Meg—looked up, into my shocked eyes, and smiled hesitantly. "Gaara," she breathed. She stood, unsure.

Uncertain, I took a step towards her, and she mirrored me.

Then, she seemed unable to hold herself back, and she raced across the room. She wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. "Gaara," she repeated, seemingly dazed. She sighed and pressed her face into the crook of my neck.

I carefully curled my arms around her, slightly stunned. She **felt** real, but I still couldn't believe she was really here. "Meg?" I whispered.

She nodded, and pressed closer to me. "It's me," she said weakly.

I tightened my grip on her. She wasn't getting away from me, not now. I pressed my face into her hair, inhaling shakily. How could she be here? How could she remember? How…? How did I manage to translate that **right**?

Of course, it didn't matter to me how she knew or how she got here. The important part was that she was here, with me.

I sighed, and then released her reluctantly. I kept her hand tightly in mine, though, unable to completely let go. I noticed the boy sitting in the chair Meg had previously occupied, looking slightly awkward as we embraced.

"Who're you?" I demanded of him. I realized I'd seen him before, but I couldn't remember where.

"Draco," Meg remarked offhandedly. "The one with Sakura."

"Hmm. I suppose you remember, too?" Draco nodded in response to my question, so I continued in my musings. "Alright, you'll need to stay with me until we get this handled. Come on."

I pulled Meg along, and Usagi walked alongside us. Draco skulked along behind us.

"How much do you love me?" Usagi asked, poking me teasingly.

"Loads," I said with a smile. "I'll never be more grateful to you."

Meg looked away with a pained look in her eyes. I wanted to take it away, but I hadn't the slightest idea how, or why it was there, so I didn't say anything about it. She pulled her hand away, though, leaving my hand empty. Now, I felt wounded, and even more confused.

"So, how did you two end up here?" I asked, trying to loosen the tension. "Did Sai help you?"

"Yes," Meg mumbled. "He made us a portkey."

"Huh," I said. "Looks like I'll have to forgive him for this one."

Meg stopped walking next to me, and I turned back to her in surprise. "What?"

"Forgive? What are you forgiving him for? Should I leave?"

I saw the agony in her eyes, and instantly felt confused. "What? No! Why would you think that?"

"You said forgive, like he'd done something wrong…was it wrong for me to come? Maybe I **should** go." The agony was still there, now coupled with panic and anxiety.

We were walking through the streets now, and people were noticing the newcomers. And since I was associating with them, they noticed me, and stopped to observe us.

I returned to her side, and took her hand again. I pulled her along, and reluctantly she allowed me to pull her through the crowd. "Of course not. You see, when Sai left Konoha, presumably to get outsiders, like yourself, it was treason. By law, your world isn't supposed to know that we exist—thus the reason we had to hide your memories. As you may have discovered, we couldn't completely erase your memories, only make it difficult for you to even realize that you were missing memories, and then even harder to recover them. Close enough to erasing that we were satisfied. By the way, you'll need to explain this completely.

"But having Sai come into your world put that at risk. It was incredibly feasible that seeing Sai would help you to regain your memories, which would put the village at risk. But since you coming back was the result," I shrugged. "I'm willing to pardon him."

She glanced at me, bemused. She seemed to be questioning something, but whatever it was, she didn't say it. "Oh. But you must have realized…well, I suppose not. Anyway, Trish and I were the only one's he saw, until Draco showed up, and we'd both already regained our memories. And I made sure that Draco had recovered **all** of his memories before I took him to Sai and Trish," she explained. "So really, your world was never in danger. Well, none that Sai caused, at least."

"I suppose," I agreed, "But the threat was very real, so it may be hard to convince Tsunade otherwise. In any case, I'll be traveling over there to hold a conference with her about this very matter. I need you two to come with me. If all goes well, Draco can stay with Sakura, and you can visit Hinata."

"Hinata!" she repeated, smiling tentatively. "I've missed her."

I smiled at the childlike happiness evident on her face and wrapped an arm around her waist.

She glanced at me in surprise, but didn't comment, instead leaning into me. She smiled softly at something she didn't share, and looked down to hide a blush. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"To my office," I said as I lead her up the steps. "We'll be able to discuss in private exactly how all this happened."

I held the door open for her, and Usagi grabbed before I let it drop, allowing Draco to slip through the door. I'd pretty much forgotten about the two of them by this point, and gladly accepted the reminder.

"GAARA! How did she get here?" Temari demanded. She was sitting in the waiting area of my office, playing cards with my secretary.

I was somewhat disturbed by how good of a friend she seemed to be with my secretary, but I felt it best not to mention it.

"And the boy, too?" she exclaimed before I could explain.

I sighed and beckoned for her to follow me into the office.

* * *

**(Usagi)**

"So. Exactly how do you remember all of this?" Gaara was seated behind his desk, leaving the rest of us to find a seat in the chairs that were in the room.

I moved some paperwork onto the floor, and gestured for Meg to sit in the chair they had previously occupied. I did the same to two other chairs for Draco and myself, and then settled in for a long story. Temari was on her own. As it was, she chose to lean against a wall casually with her fan resting against her thigh.

Meg shifted uncomfortably. "Ah… Well, you see, Juugo, I think his name was, came about a month ago. He entered my dreams, I think, and put some sort of image in my head, audio, too…that sort of triggered the release of the charm. After all, every charm, every spell is breakable." She considered that. "Other than the unforgivable curses."

"Juugo," Gaara repeated, casting a glance at me.

I had grown very still in my chair. Frozen, I stared at Meg. There was no way what she said could have been true. "But he's dead," I blurted, voicing my confusion.

"Yeah, Trish did mention that," she agreed. "She said he was a mononoke."

"So…he's still here?" I squeaked.

"Mmhmm," Meg said simply.

I ran from the room, leaving Meg and Draco gaping after me. Gaara didn't comment, and I could hear him questioning Draco now, as I rushed from the room.

* * *

**(Secretary)**  
As soon as they'd entered the office, I raced to the door and pressed an ear against it.

I heard Gaara's voice calmly asking for information about the situation. I heard a muted explanation about mononoke, and then heard Usagi freak out, and run towards the door. Quickly, I moved out of the way, just in time for the door to burst open with Usagi rushing out.

The door slammed behind her, and eagerly, I rested my ear against the door again. Now the boy was explaining how he'd concocted a potion and used it to regain his memories.

Just as he finished speaking, someone cleared her throat, and I looked up into the very irritated eyes of the Hyuuga princess, her father, and Neji. She looked quite put out for reasons I'll probably never know. The father looked rather livid, and his irritation was clearly pointed at me. As usual, Neji looked frustrated.

"Um…hello?"

The man made it quite clear with his glare that he wasn't going to forgive me for eavesdropping on the Kazekage, but for a low-status villager like me, even one who was the Kazekage's secretary, information like this was hard to come by. Surely he'd never understand that, since he was so high-class.

I was clearly doomed.

The door opened at this point, slamming into my back, which knocked me forward into a kneeling position in front of the Hyuugas. Temari, who had swung the door open, glanced down at me, and I blushed, standing quickly.

She merely rolled her eyes. "Eavesdropping again?" And then she looked up to the Hyuugas behind me. She grinned. "How wonderful! Please, come in. We've been expecting you."

They filed past me, the father shooting me one last glare. Temari stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. "Go Fish?" she asked cheerfully.

I gaped at her. I'd never understand the people I worked for.

"You're lucky Meg's here. Gaara would have been pretty pissed otherwise."

Ah. Yes, lucky indeed.

As we sat down and Temari began dealing, the yelling started.

* * *

**WHOO! Only one more chapter guys! REVIEWWWWWW! Or no candy for you!  
**


	13. Ch10: Journeying Part II

**As is clear, my name has changed from Invasion of the Band Geeks to AFireintheAttic. I just got sorta…bored? :) As for my inspiration, my current favorite song is Anna Molly by Incubus. I listened to it constantly while writing this, but it doesn't really fit. Just helps me concentrate. Listen to it, though!**

* * *

**The District Sleeps Alone Tonight – The Postal Service **(The video especially fits)

**Lullaby – Johannes Brahms** (I'm a sucker for the classics)

* * *

**Chapter 10** **– Journeying Part 2** (1)

* * *

**(Usagi)**  
I rubbed my arms in an attempt to keep warm, even as I knew it wouldn't help the cold I felt deep inside my heart.

I sat on the top of a sand dune, gazing listlessly across the hot desert. It was a stifling day, and heat actually visibly rose from the sand.

My whole being felt cold, though, and there was nothing that I could do about it, short of lighting myself on fire.

"Juugo," I whispered. "It's my fault, isn't it? I'm the reason you can't move on. Ugh, I feel horrible. Talking to you must only encourage this…Oh, Juugo!"

I'd noticed it before, when I spoke to him at night. I'd always felt like there was actually someone listening to my ramblings. More than that, I'd felt like it was Juugo.

"If you're a mononoke," I said desperately, even as I prayed that he was not, "You can appear to me, can't you?"

As the words slipped from me, I thought I saw the air shimmer. Deliriously, I believed for a second that he was appearing to me. At that second, it made perfect sense that he would appear. I knew he was there. I knew he couldn't just leave me. And I knew it was my fault.

I realized, perhaps still temporarily insane, that this would not be good for Juugo. I should encourage him to leave, not to manifest himself to me!

"No, Juugo, you can't! Don't appear," I gasped, and held my face in my hand. Then it occurred to me that I was being foolish. Surely the shimmering air was merely the heat rising from the sand.

I pulled my hands away from my face, and then realized very suddenly that I had not been insane at all, and Juugo **was** in front of me.

My first instinct was to run to him, and tell him how much I'd missed him. He was older now, at least, older than he had been the last time I'd seen him. But he was younger than me, I realized, at least physically. I guessed he was still older than me in years, if I counted his second life.

And that's what it was. Not an afterlife, because he clearly wasn't dead. A second life, when his first had become so empty.

"Usagi," he murmured, and I recognized it, from so many clear memories. His voice hadn't change much, only deepened slightly. It reminded me of dreams, too, and I wondered if he'd entered my dreams as well, like he'd entered Meg's.

I bit my lip, strangely depressed at the sight of him. I would have liked to be happy, seeing him again, but I couldn't focus on anything other than his death.

I didn't want him to be stuck here, following me around. He had to leave and move on.

My chest grew tight and my lungs constricted, making it hard to breathe as I realized what I had to do. I didn't want to do it, but there was nothing else that could be done. I wondered if I was experiencing heartbreak.

I measured him with my eyes, taking in his expression. I wasn't sure if he would be able to handle this, but I needed him to. "Juugo," I began coldly. "Why are you here?"

He gaped at me, uncomprehending.

"I don't want you here," I said, as though I didn't really care for him. "I don't want some dead guy following me around all the time like some sort of stalker. I want you to leave."

The most horrible look came over his face. He looked hurt and horrified, like he was going to burst into tears.

I swallowed unsteadily. "Go away. I don't want you."

With a final confused look directed at me, he vanished. I could feel a tangible difference in the air, and I realized he really was gone. I didn't know if I liked this new light feeling in the air, or if I would hate it, I only knew that it was what was good for us.

I didn't know where Juugo had gone, but I could only hope he wouldn't return. That was important. He couldn't go on living—because he wasn't dead, that much had been made clear—in a lie.

* * *

**(Hinata)  
**I practically fainted when I saw Meg sitting in the chair, but I think I did faint when she launched herself across the room at my father.

The next thing I knew I was sitting in the chair she'd occupied a minute before, and Gaara was holding Meg back.

"I thought you were dead, Hizashi!" she snapped. "How dare you do that to my mother? And what are you doing here?" All the while, her pretty face was marred with a hideous glare.

Neji, who had been crouched protectively in front of my father straightened up. He was gaping at her in shock.

"Hizashi **is** dead," I said quietly.

Meg's snapped around to glare at me. "Then who's this worthless piece of—"

"Watch your mouth," I snarled. As cruel my father could be, I didn't like her insulting him. "That's my father, Hiashi, Hizashi's twin brother."

She stared at me, quite clearly in shock. Maybe because of what I'd said, or maybe because I'd spoken harsh words to her.

"I don't know what you mean by your mother, but he lives in Konoha." I looked to my father, whose face was tight with stress. "Dad, do you know?"

"Who was your mother? I don't really know what you're talking about." His tone was perfectly composed confusion, but I knew that he had a pretty good idea of whatever she was speaking of.

"Her name was Mary Black."

He sighed and looked down, apparently understanding. "In his youth, Hizashi was somewhat freer. He fell in love with Mary, an English girl."

Meg nodded in agreement.

"They did get married, but it didn't last long. When Mary got pregnant, my father insisted that the children be brought to Konoha to be raised, but Mary refused. Hizashi would have been removed from the family, which for him was worse even than being a member of the branch family. He tried to convince Mary to leave, but she wanted to raise the children in England. Finally, he did the only thing he could think of—he divorced her, leaving her pregnant with his child and returning to Konoha until the baby was born.

"He didn't realize that he was the father of twins until he returned to the hospital at the time of the birth. When he saw the twins, he knew that one was stronger than the other, so he took the strong one. The one with Byakugan." Father hesitated, and then added quietly. "He took Neji and left you behind."

A quick glance at Neji revealed that he, like me, was horrorstruck.

"Why didn't I have this…'byakugan'?" Meg asked.

My father shrugged. "There is a theory, that when twins are conceived, one will always have the strengths that are the others weakness. I don't know if this is true, but Neji is a very strong ninja. His father made a good choice."

I winced. That wasn't the best thing that Father could have said. He shifted uncomfortably as he realized this as well.

Meg seemed too shocked to react badly, though, and she now looked speculatively at Neji. "You do resemble Mum," she admitted.

"And you resemble father," Neji replied coolly.

She nodded, but said nothing more.

Gaara cleared his throat, reminding us of his presence. Meg was calm in his arms now, as she'd been before, when she learned of her father's death.

He peered out at us over her shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

I piped up at this point. "Lady Tsunade assigned me to bring you this message, but then father insisted on coming with me. Of course Neji wouldn't let the two of us travel alone, so…" I shrugged.

Gaara stared at me, and then glanced at Hiashi. "Okay…" He shook his head, and then asked what the message was.

"Oh, just that if you saw Sai, or anyone who was an outsider to the villages, you were supposed to…" My voice trailed off as I glanced at Meg and Draco—I think that was his name, anyway. They definitely qualified as 'outsiders'.

"Right, well, I need to visit Tsunade, anyway. To talk about Sai and all…we'll be traveling back with you," Gaara said, taking it all in a stride. His ability not to balk at things seeming to be impossible had always astounded me.

I smiled gently. "Maybe tomorrow? I think some of us are a bit weary." Meaningfully, I glanced at my father.

Gaara smiled—**actually smiled**—back. "Not only he, I must admit. I'm sure we all need a rest after today." He stood, helping Meg to her feet as well. "Now, allow me to escort you all to your rooms…"

* * *

**(Karin)**

I hate rehab.

I think learning to walk was probably much more fun the first time I did it. That's just a speculation, of course, considering I still can't remember that (not that I think I would, even under normal circumstances; that was a long time ago).

In any case, I find it very frustrating to learn now.

First it wasn't too bad—just boring. I had to do all these exercises to strengthen my legs. I exercised with Sasuke, who wasn't as…loopy or bold as he had been while in the ICU. I guess that could be considered 'romantic', but it was really just entertaining to watch the almighty Sasuke unable to perform the simplest exercises. He always looked very put out at his current disability, and it was very comforting.

Now, though, I was relearning how to walk. He already knew how, so I was stuck learning by myself.

Sometimes he came to watch, never taking his eyes off of me. I think I caught him smiling once, as I finally took a few steps alone, clumsy as they were.

I'm regaining memories—things like walking, talking…Simple things. Nothing that was too difficult, and nothing that had anything to do with me. I'm gradually beginning to remember things like chakra control and jutsus, but I can't remember where I was born, or who my mother was.

It's disheartening. I feel like I can't remember the important things. I suppose in a way, I'm unchained from emotional boundaries that would have held me back before, but I also feel sort of lost without them.

Sasuke says he still loves me, and I'm pretty sure I love him. I'm mostly just upset that I can't remember how much I loved him before.

Right now, I'm stumbling around without crutches. Sasuke is walking with me, and I'm leaning against him heavily. Sakura is nearby, waiting for either of us to become weary or fall.

We're in the hospital courtyard when the cacophony of the street rises to a whole new level.

I have a pretty good idea of who it is that's caused this rise in volume—is there ever anyone else? Sure enough, Naruto bounds through the gate of the Hospital a few seconds after I come to this conclusion. Of all my new friends, Naruto is the loudest.

"Sakura!" he yells, barreling into her. "You'll never guess who's here!!"

"Uh…Hinata?" she guesses half-heartedly.

To me this makes sense—going on what I now know about Naruto, Hinata would make him the most excited.

But he shakes his head, and Sasuke sighs beside me. "He probably won't tell her until she guesses," he murmurs, tickling my ear with his breath. "Let's keep walking. No doubt we'll hear him no matter where we are."

I smile; this is true. Naruto could probably be heard everywhere in Konoha, with the volume he normally speaks at.

"YES! But that's not what I came to tell you. Guess again!" Naruto demands.

"Neji and Hiashi," she says tiredly.

"Great job! But why would I be excited about that? Guess for real this time!"

"Gaara and Temari?" I've never heard her mention those two before, so I'm not sure she even has a reason to guess them.

"Yes, actually. But there are two other people you should be very happy to see! Well, just one, actually… But there's two of them."

I struggle to make sense of his convoluted sentence, but I'm not sure if that was my amnesia, or if it was confusing in general. I don't know how to ask that, and don't really want to, either. Not that Sasuke is anything other than patient with my questions, but I can see that he's worried about my disability to remember things.

Sasuke sighs. "Such a dobe. He should work on being clearer."

Relief floods through me. So it was confusing, not just me.

"Sai?" Sakura asks, her voice dead.

"Nope, but you're a lot closer this time."

"Naruto, I'm never going to guess, just like you said. Just tell me who it is," Sakura says, obviously frustrated.

"I'll give you a hint—" Naruto starts, but stops as Sakura raises a fist to punch him. "Okay, okay. No need to be so touchy. It's Draco and Meg."

Sasuke stiffens beside me. "Malfoy?" I hear him mutter, shocked.

Sakura stands frozen, unable to move from her threatening position. I don't understand how she can look so hopeful and stunned at the same time—Naruto's words are just gibberish to me.

"Draco?" she repeats.

Naruto nods excitedly. "Go see him! Gaara and them were heading to the Hokage tower! I'll watch Teme and his girlfriend. Hinata will be here in a minute."

"Naruto, so help me, if you're lying, I will personally rip you to pieces, Hinata or no Hinata," Sakura snarls, and then she rushes away, out through the gate.

Naruto plops down in the chair that Sakura just vacated. "Hey, Teme! Hi, Karin!"

Sasuke chuckles beside me. "Dobe," he responds.

"Hi," I murmur tentatively.

After a few minutes of listening to Naruto ramble about something, Sasuke tells Naruto to shut up. When Naruto keeps talking, Sasuke helps me sit down, and then proceeds to attack his sometimes 'best friend'.

After a minor scuffle, Sasuke returns to sit by me. Naruto is pouting in his chair, refraining from opening his mouth.

Moments later, Ino, my nurse when Sakura's not on duty, enters the courtyard. "Hey Karin," she says cheerfully, as she walks towards the entrance of the hospital. "I'll be out with a report briefly. First I gotta scrub in."

After she goes in the building, Naruto jumps up. "Wanna play a game?"

"No," Sasuke says, frowning at the blond.

"I wasn't asking you," Naruto snaps. His face brightens as he says, "I was asking Karin."

"Uh…what game?" I hedge. I don't really want to play a game; I want to keep holding Sasuke's hand. But I hate to disappoint people.

"Well…"

Just then, Ino returns, and I'm saved. She has a clipboard, and a frown on her face. "We just finished analyzing your results," she explains.

Sasuke stiffens next to me, and starts massaging the back of my hand with his thumb. It's like he knows it will only be bad news.

"Well," she hedges. "You should be able to regain all of your 'muscle memory', but it's looking doubtful that you'll ever regain your personal memories."

I can't move. I'm frozen, staring into her cerulean eyes.

Never?

It's what I suspected, deep down. Physically, I'm healing perfectly, but I can't regain the person I used to be. Whatever they'd done to me—or the shock, I guess—was impossible to undo. My mind was permanently screwed up.

Abruptly, Sasuke pulls me into his arms.

Slowly, I relax into his embrace, and clutch him tighter. I bury my face into the crook of his neck.

"I still love you," he whispers, pulling me closer. "Always. I don't care if you can't remember how I was before. It doesn't matter. You'll always be my Karin. Always." He murmurs the word always frequently, not seeming to trust himself to say anything else.

"Karin?" Ino's soft voice floats over to me. "Are you tired?"

And suddenly, I realize that I'm very tired. I nod, still holding Sasuke tightly. This is why Ino makes an excellent nurse. Technically, she has the skills for chakra healing, but her talents are no match for Sakura's. But Ino reads people, and always seems to know exactly what pains they're experiencing, even when they themselves don't. Apparently, she wasn't always this way; Sasuke grudgingly told Naruto that he doesn't find her repulsive…anymore.

Sasuke helps me to stand, and guides me through the doors and into the stairwell. Ino stands a bit behind me, ready to catch me if I stumble.

We manage to make it to my room without event. I practically fall into my bed, and don't even bother with the covers. I'm very tired now, and my eyelids start to droop. Ino and Sasuke start to leave the room, but I call his name softly.

He stops, concern etched on his face. "Karin?"

"Stay," I beg softly. "Just for a minute…until I fall asleep."

His eyes soften, and gently, he lies down beside me. He wraps his arm around my waist, and kissing my cheek, whispers, "Sleep."

I fall into a black dream. There is no color or shapes. No people, only blackness. I'm not even sure if I exist in this dream, but my slumbering mind accepts this.

Music floats through the darkness though; a mother—I'm not sure how I know it's a mother, but I do—hums a song…Brahms' Lullaby, I realize suddenly. And I am content, sliding back into my silent darkness.

There are no memories, only black. I feel arms tighten around me, and I fade gently, accepting.

* * *

**[Third Person]**

"Is that all, Tenten?" Tsunade muttered.

"Yep," Tenten said, her mouth popping on the 'p'. She was actually surprised that Tsunade had picked out her stopping place. It hadn't felt like Tsunade had been listening at all.

Tsunade, in fact, had not been listening. She had long ago picked up the ability to figure out from the sound of one's voice exactly where he or she would finish talking. The moment Tenten made it clear that Sai hadn't been found, and switched to listing the places that had been examined, Tsunade had stopped listening.

This had been going on for a number of days, and Tsunade was sending her shinobi out farther into the woods all the time. Thank goodness she only had to listen to one report. She felt sorry for Tenten, who, as the lead Jounin, had to listen to everyone's report.

Tsunade was about to dismiss Tenten, when someone knocked on the door. Surprised, Tsunade said, "Come in."

The door opened, revealing Hinata, and a plethora of other people. "Reporting," Hinata said shyly.

"Sure, sure," Tsunade muttered. Why couldn't they just leave her alone? All she wanted was some Sake… "Who's here, exactly?"

With a sigh, Hinata listed, "Neji, Father, Gaara, Temari, Meg, Draco, and me…Oh, and here comes Sakura."

"Well, you may as well come—wait a second. Draco and Meg?"

"From England."

Tsunade's face scrunched up angrily as the group entered the room. She didn't notice Neji casually stand next to Tenten, but Hinata did, with a smile.

"Actually," Gaara said as he stepped through the threshold, holding a girl's hand, "That's why I'm here."

"How can I help you, Kazekage-sama?" Tsunaded muttered crossly.

"Well, _Hokage-sama_," he retorted, "I came to ask if the ban of Sai and the other outsiders was absolutely necessary."

She frowned. "Yes."

"Why?" he asked petulantly. "They remember everything, anyway."

Tsunade glared at the out-of-breath Sakura, who was hugging Draco so tightly it appeared as though he was having trouble breathing. That could have just been Sakura's sparkling personality affecting him, though with Sakura's strength, the former was possible as well.

"Sakura," Tsunade growled. "I thought this was handled."

"So did we," Sakura muttered. But she didn't move away from her darling Draco; it was doubtful that anything could force her to.

"Anyway," Gaara muttered. "I just don't understand why you aren't allowing them reentrance."

"Sai betrayed the village," Tsunade hissed. "And they never belonged here in the first place."

"So, are you saying they aren't allowed in Konoha?" Gaara asked. "Ever?"

"Yes," Tsunade said, and then proceeded to say in a perfectly articulated voice, "That is exactly what I'm saying."

"You see, there's a slight problem with that," Gaara said. "When I marry Meg—" He paused when Meg seemed to choke on something—air, perhaps. "Are you okay?"

She smiled at him uncertainly. "I'm wondering if I'm awake."

He smiled back. "Of course you are. Now, when I marry Meg, I won't be able to attend anything in this village. Obviously, I won't be able to go anywhere without her. So no more appearances at festivals, exams…nope, nothing."

Tsunade frowned. "Clearly I can't deny access to your wife. But I can deny access to this one—" She pointed at Draco. "Or Sai, and whoever he went back to."

"And if I induct them into my village?" Gaara asked coolly.

Tsunade glowered. "We wouldn't see that very kindly."

"I guess you'd have to deal with that, wouldn't you? I personally refuse to abandon Draco in the desert. I'm only sorry that Sakura won't be able to spend more time with him."

Neji cleared his throat. "Actually, if you're refusing to let…outsiders live her in Konoha, you should probably kick me out, too."

There was an uncomprehending silence from Tsunade.

"Well," Neji said slowly. "I was born in England, actually. Meg is my twin sister."

Meg grinned beatifically at Tsunade.

"Let me rephrase that," Neji said carefully. "If you deny access to my sister or her friends, even Sai, I will leave Konoha."

The room was dead silent as Tsunade gaped at Neji and he stared calmly back.

Finally, she spoke. "You…can't be serious."

"Oh, but I am," Neji said simply. The room was racing with confusion. Sai had always been the most loyal nin in Konoha, with Neji right behind him. Both were quite clearly stepping away from their roles of loyalty to stand for what is right.

Tsunade's gaze hardened. She decided he was bluffing, and said coldly, "Then go. My village is not a home to traitors."

Neji turned and bowed low to Hiashi and Hinata. "I'm going to the manor to retrieve some items. I shall leave tomorrow."

"Of course," Gaara said graciously, "Neji is welcome in Suna. Anyone who wishes to join is."

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama," Neji said, and bowed to Gaara as well.

Tenten gaped at Neji's departing form. "Me as well," she spat at Tsunade, and then rushed after Neji.

"Lady Tsunade," Sakura said slowly, "I'm sorry. But I've been completely lifeless these past few months, and I don't think I can make it much longer without Draco." Sakura paused, slightly unwilling to harm her mentor and teacher, whom she revered so highly. "If you deny him access, I will resign from my post at the hospital, and leave my home."

Tsunade and Sakura stared each other down. Sakura had to look away, hurting so much herself, but she wasn't giving up.

With a resigned sigh, Tsunade said, "Call Neji and Tenten back. I'll allow them all back into the village."

"Everyone?" Sakura pressed.

"Everyone," Tsunade agreed tiredly. "Even Sai."

Sakura grinned and pulled Draco into another hug. Everything was falling into place, now.

* * *

Temari left her room at the Hokage mansion with Meg trailing behind her. Meg was quiet, as she and Temari hadn't really talked before coming to Konoha, and she hadn't even had her class.

On the other hand, the silence was very awkward, and for some reason, she didn't like it. She was about to comment on the weather, but Temari gracefully started her own conversation.

"So," Temari began. "What's it like to have a twin?"

Meg thought about it. "Well, it's mostly awkward. I mean, I don't really know him, on the one hand, but of the conversations we've had, you know, on the trip, he was very easy to understand. Not his language, but his views. I didn't realize he cared so much, but when he stood up for us like that in Tsunade's office…"

Temari nodded sagely. "Neji is very loyal to his family. Even more loyal to them than he is to the village. I'm sure that's why. Not that he doesn't like you as a person," she added quickly.

"If what you say is true, the first part, I mean," Meg said thoughtfully, "Then I'm glad he sees me as family."

Temari grinned. "He does. You're the sister he's never had, even if you are weaker than him in the shinobi sense. But you're strong as a witch. And that's good. By the way, does your magic work here?"

"Yes, very well," she said. She hesitated, and then asked, "So…did you ever get back together with Shikamaru?"

Temari brightened. "Yes. Actually, after I drop you off at Hinata's, I'm going to see him. I'll be back to get you before nine, though, so don't worry."

"Yeah, that's fine," Meg said with a smile. "But how did it happen?"

"It was annoying, really. Usagi forced me to dance with him at her wedding. So we had to practice almost daily, gross. Anyway, we ended as friends at first, but at the wedding…" She smiled happily. "I don't know. He looked really nice, I guess. And _so happy _to see me. I think that's what did it—I'd never seen him look at me with anything but annoyance, so when he smiled at me and really meant it, I think my heart caught on fire. Or something ridiculous like that," she said wistfully.

"Of course, he'd been trying to get back with me for _months_," Temari continued with a laugh. "So he had no problem with my sudden return of affection.

"I'm happy for you," Meg murmured. "Thanks, by the way."

"Hmm? For what?"

"Accepting me; for taking me to Hinata's; and taking care of Gaara. From what I've heard, he was pretty messed up…"

"He was. He missed you like crazy and practically cried himself to sleep every night. Except for the sleep part. I made him come home and go to bed, but I know he just sat in there and cried; he never actually slept." Temari paused, seeming to consider something. "By the way, I think you're offending Gaara."

"How?" Meg asked, shocked.

"Well, you're always so distant. He's _so_ in love with you, but you're always pulling away. You're kinda scaring him, even though he'd never admit it. And then you sort of freaked out today when he told Tsunade he was going to marry you…"

Meg frowned. "Wouldn't _you_ be freaked out if Shikamaru announced to Tsunade he was going to marry you without even telling you first?"

She thought about that. "Yes. Very. But I'd be happy, too."

"I am happy. But I'm also…confused. And just a little scared."

"Why?"

"I'm happy because I love him—"

"Obviously," Temari cut in.

"Yes, well. I'm confused because I didn't realize he lov—liked me that much." Meg blushed slightly.

"Of course he does," Temari said, flapping a hand. "He loves you enough that he became a vegetable without you. An emo veggie. It was really scary, honestly."

Meg shrugged. "I'm scared for basically the same reason. I'm scared he doesn't like me as much as he says, or maybe he does, but tomorrow, he won't."

"I don't know how to convince you otherwise, so I won't bother," Temari muttered. "I can promise he won't leave, though. You're going to be stuck with him, so I hope you really do love him."

"I do," Meg started. "That's not the problem—"

"Meg!" Hinata called. She was standing by the hospital gate. "I'm glad you came this way. Ino asked me to take over for her tonight. Do you mind if we stay here instead?"

Meg shook her head. "Sure, it's fine." Turning to Temari, she said, "Talk to you later, Temari."

Temari nodded. "Yep. Be here at nine."

"Hey, Hinata," Meg called as she approached her.

"Hi. Sorry about this, but Ino had some last minute thing come up with her family. Anyway, all I have to do is watch Karin. She's sort of afraid of being alone."

That statement alone pretty much summed up Meg's feelings, and suddenly sympathetic, she said, "That's cool. It didn't matter to me where we hung out, anyway."

Hinata smiled and led her up the stairs to a room at the end of the hall. "Here we are."

"Oh, Hinata, thanks so much for doing this. You have no idea what it means to me!" a blond girl gushed as Hinata and Meg entered the room. She hugged Hinata tightly, and then caught a glimpse of Meg. "Oh! You must be Meg. I heard you're engaged to the Kazekage; congratulations!"

"Thank you," Meg said, smiling to herself. "It was very sudden."

"It's so nice to meet you!" Ino said, still chipper. Then she frowned and leaned towards Hinata. "Can I talk to you a minute? I'm a little worried about Karin."

They stepped outside, leaving Meg alone with the girl in the bed. She was reading a medical magazine, her face the picture of concentration. Then, out of the blue, she said, "The first thing I remembered was how to read. Well, how to read words. Numbers are still sort of tricky."

Hesitantly, Meg sat down. "What do you mean, remember?"

Karin looked up. "Well, I'm experiencing amnesia. I'm pretty sure it's a result of shock. Sakura still won't tell me." She looked down at her magazine, and then closed it, placing it on the table next to her bed. "Do you know Sasuke?"

"A little," Meg murmured, her mind struggling to keep up with the girl. "He was on the mission to England."

"England?"

Meg nodded. "That's where I come from."

"The Land of England? What village is there?" Karin asked, pursing her lips a little in confusion.

"Well…there's London."

"The Village Hidden in London?"

"There's no hidden villages in England, Karin," Hinata said as she reentered the room. "Meg's from an alternate dimension."

Karin nodded sagely, as though this made perfect sense. Meg, on the other hand, still found the whole situation hard to grasp.

"I have a question," Karin began. "Ino said I'd never regain my personal memories, but I can remember that I love Sasuke." It was a statement, really, but the question was clear.

The question was obviously directed at Hinata, but Meg jumped in before she could answer. "Did she say you would regain muscle memories?"

"Well, yes. But I don't see what that has to do with it…"

"There's a hypothesis, not really a theory, that some memories are spread through the body—things like riding bikes, walking, and talking. Things like that would be stored in your legs, feet, your hands, or your mouth. It's what you call muscle memory. It's the reason a guitarist can memorize a song and play it perfectly on stage without the sheet music. It's the reason you can learn to ride a bike when you're five, and then stop for years, but get back on the bike when you're fifteen, and still ride.

"It has been hypothesized, in addition, that some emotions are not stored in the mind, but throughout the body. In places like the heart, or skin. It sounds so strange, and contrary to everything we know about the mind. As usual, our bodies never cease to amaze us. We can remember things like former loves, or at least, the way they made us feel. There's the quickening of the pulse, the disability to breathe regularly around them…things like that, that remind us of our love for them.

"They call them memories of the heart."

Karin smiled. "Memories of the heart…I like the idea of that." She yawned. "Is it okay if I go to sleep now?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes. We won't leave until someone else comes in, okay?"

"Good," she murmured, and then she carefully rolled onto her side.

"Did you make that up?" Hinata asked Meg a few minutes later.

"No," Meg said serenely. "I read about it while I was doing research. Surprisingly, the Malfoys had a muggle medical book." (2)

It took Hinata a minute to understand the muggle reference, but then she nodded. "I think you helped her a lot."

"Yeah," Meg agreed. "I think I helped me a lot, too."

And it had helped her. She wasn't quite so scared of what might happen with Gaara now—she knew where she stood in this crazy love affair. And so what if she wasn't as sure about Gaara? It would all work out, like Trish said. And if Gaara didn't love her, there were other fish in the sea… Or desert, as it happened.

But she could feel in her heart, that the other fish didn't matter. Only one was really important.

And she'd be darned if someone else was going to catch him first.

* * *

**(1)** As you may have noticed, last chapter was Journeying Part 1. This is Part 2. In part 1, there was a physical journey taking place: the trip to Suna. In this chapter, the title refers to the mental and emotional journeys that take place, not really the journey from Suna to Konoha.  
**(2)** I'm not sure this is even a real phenomenon. I know I read about it somewhere, but I can't remember where. So don't take my word when I say it's a real hypothesis, pretend I made it up. (Except don't…I don't want to be accused of plagiarism.)

Woo! I saw Twilight. I loved it! Don't hate, as I always say.

So, this is the last chapter. We've got an epilogue left, and then this baby will be wrapped up!

I'm going to start working soon, o don't worry your little heads. :D

AFireInTheAttic


	14. Epilogue: First Taste, The End

Disclaimer: Hm…I don't own Naruto, Harry Potter, Cherry Soda, or chocolate Zingers. Or the songs.

I really love these songs. They're so different than everything else their respective artists sing, so please listen, even if you can't stand HH or BB…that's weird…

Rain – Breaking Benjamin  
Forever – Breaking Benjamin  
Decembers – Hawthorne Heights (We began with Hawthorne Heights, and so we end with them as well)

* * *

**Epilogue – First Taste**

(Trish)  
"Are you sure about this?" I whisper. "Do you know what you're about to do?"

"Tie myself to you forever?" Sai replies. He kisses my nose. "Of course I'm sure."

This was it. The day that will completely alter our relationship and the very core of our beings. I'm ready, but I never want Sai to be ready. Can't I be content with what I'm already doing? Living off animal meat and blood?

The look in my father's eyes today told me no.

This is the optimum time to do it, as well. Last month, an ecstatic Meg burst into our home to tell us that Sai will be allowed back into the village.

"You should have seen it!" she declared. "All the shinobi were refusing to stay if we weren't allowed in Konoha! Oh, by the way, do you remember Neji? He's actually my twin brother! Isn't that strange?" After explaining the whole story, she announced that she was getting married.

"Aren't you a bit young?" I stuttered.

She frowned. "True love waits for no mouse! Or woman. And anyway, I'm nineteen, not a little baby like you!"

"Baby," I scoffed. "You say that now, but when I'm twenty-nine, and you're thirty…" We explained that I couldn't go back just yet, but that we'd be there as soon as possible.

Cheerfully, she hugged me, and then apparated away. "Weird," I muttered. "I didn't know you could apparate across dimensions."

But back to the point. My body has adjusted to the amount of blood I'll need to survive, and the amount that won't kill Sai. All I had to do now was…bite.

I never would have guessed that something babies do successfully would be so hard to do. And yet, here I am, curled in his arms, mouth hovering above the base of his neck, not quite sure I _want_ to bite just yet.

"Will it hurt?" he asks suddenly.

"Yes," I admit. "At first, when the teeth pierce the skin. But after that, I'm told it's a pleasurable experience." I pause. "Why? Having second thoughts?"

"Snowflake," he said, exasperated. "Please. I'm a ninja. Pain isn't that big of a deal to me. I'm just trying to understand your hesitation."

I smile at the nickname, and then think about the hesitation more deeply. "I think," I admit. "I'm afraid you'll wake up one day and realize you don't want me anymore. But you'll be stuck with me because we'll both need each other to survive."

"Snowflake," he murmurs again. He kisses my temple softly. "I need you now. I'll always need you, whether you bite me or not. I'm more concerned that _you'll_ find someone else…which only increases my desire for you to bite me. Then you're stuck with me!" he explains cheerfully.

I crash my lips to his, and almost instantly regret it. I struggle not to chew his lip off, and pull away before I do something I'll regret later. "I love you," I whisper.

"Then bite me, Snowflake," he mutters, rolling his eyes.

I giggle, and kiss his neck slowly. I can feel his blood pulsing underneath my lips. I can smell it.

I want it, _so_ badly…

Unable to resist any longer, I bite. I hear Sai gasp at the pain, but he doesn't scream. I applaud him in my head. I remember my bite—_it hurt_. I distinctly remember screaming, and I wasn't even completely human. These thoughts don't last long; now I'm focusing completely on the amount of blood I'll need, and the way it tastes. It rolls across my tongue, tantalizingly warm. It reminds me of a hot chocolate lava cake—so sweet and warm. Delicious. I could drink his blood forever, but I won't. I love him too much to kill him.

Enough.

I run my tongue across the wound, drinking up the blood that didn't make it to me, and then grab gauze and a piece of medical tape. I press the gauze on the wound and tape it down, careful to cover it all.

"All clear," I report.

He brushes his fingers across the gauze. "How…? Your vampire speed never ceases to amaze me. Well, actually, _you_ never cease to amaze me. I love you."

"I love you more," I shoot back, and giggling, kiss him again. This time, with the blood still running down my throat, I don't have any weird urges.

Breathless, we break apart minutes later. "You taste like…cake," I whisper in his ear.

I feel his silent laughter shake his body. "What flavor?" he asks.

"Only the best," I murmur, closing my eyes. I feel very calm and at peace in his arms. "Chocolate."

He laughs again, and pulls me down onto the bed. "I'm tired," he informs me.

"You should be," I murmur, curling against him. "You didn't lose that much blood, but still…and that make out session, hmm…we should really tone it down, huh?"

"Nah," he replies, drawing out the 'ah'.

I giggle. "Rest some, okay? I'm going to get you some carbs…" I make an effort to stand up, but he pulls me back.

"Not carbs," he murmurs, his lips brushing against the nape of my neck. "They'll ruin my figure…"

I roll my eyes and giggle. "Please. The way you jump around… Besides, if I think you're getting to fat, I'll just take little nibbles out of you until you're the size I like."

He laughs and releases me. "Hurry back," he calls mournfully. "I miss you already…and your…coldness?"

"Sure you do…" I mutter. When I get to the kitchen, I have to sit down. I can't keep the smile off of my face, and for once, I don't want to hide my emotions. I can't help it, and soon, I'm dancing around the room, searching for a soda and some kind of snack food for Sai.

Dad walks in while I'm jazz dancing over to the pantry to rustle up some cupcakes. He doesn't say anything for a moment, though he knows I know he's there. When he does speak, I can hear the smile in his voice without seeing it. "I've never seen you so happy." He doesn't say anything else, and I don't respond, except pausing in my tap routine to leap across the room and give him a hug.

After I find a cherry soda and a chocolate Zinger I dance into my room again, and see Sai, completely conked out. I can't decide if I should wake him up and make him eat, or just let him take a little nap.

I opt for the latter, deciding to just watch him sleep. Curling up next to him, I watch his peaceful face as he slumbers. His breaths are steady and his heartbeats even. In this moment, there's nowhere I'd rather be. I almost wish the moment would never end. Almost, not quite, because I like him when he's awake, too. I like him all of the time—no, love. I love him all of the time.

He can drink the soda later, I decide as I bury my face in his chest. Right now, I think I'll take a nap.

* * *

**Five Years Later: The End**

(Juugo)

_**This is the end**_

His breathing was uneven, though he needed no air. He watched Usagi dancing with Haku, and saw a perfect snapshot of her life. She was glowing with happiness, and there was no doubt on her face as she gazed into her partner's eyes.

Of the group, they are the most active with their relationship—always dancing, always hugging and kissing.

Usagi makes Haku feel alive, and Haku makes Usagi forget about her troubles.

At least, that's what Juugo tells himself.

_**The end of a lie**_

She was happy with her life. There were sometimes he thought she missed him, when she was walking alone through the streets, coming home from her work. Her face would fall suddenly, like she wasn't sure about something. It was times like those he was sure she knew he hadn't really left. She seemed to see right into his eyes, and her face fell.

Of course, he knew that he was lying to himself. He was very careful never to reveal himself to her in any way. He never tried to help her; look how that had turned out.

All he could do was, well, stalk her.

_**The end of a tale**_

She didn't even talk to him any more, before she fell asleep.

He couldn't for the life of himself, figure out why he stayed. He should have just left when she had told him to. He should have just joined the forest mononoke who danced through the trees, when he'd died. They felt nothing, unless the forest felt it, and the forest never experienced heartbreak.

The thought stuck with him as the song ended, and Usagi and Haku walked back to the large gathering of people. For once, his thoughts weren't on Usagi as he considered his brethren, the mononoke. If he faded and drifted…would he join them?

_**The end of me**_

If Juugo had stayed, he would have seen a very pregnant Meg lean over to kiss her husband's cheek. He might have seen Karin and Sasuke rise and bid the others goodnight. He might have seen everyone leave, one by one, until only Meg, Hinata, and Trish were left.

Their respective boyfriends and husbands were nearby, leaving the girl's time alone.

"I miss you," Meg complained. She was absentmindedly stroking her 'baby bump', as she liked to call it.

"We miss you, too. Especially Neji. He frets about being an uncle all the time," Hinata giggled. "It's really funny to watch him."

Trish nodded. Watching the normally calm and collected Hyuuga freak out _was_ very amusing. "I feel like I can't talk to anyone but Hinata and Sai," Trish admitted. "I feel so…self-conscious without you."

Meg giggled. "Right, since I'm a whale. It's impossible to feel self-conscious next to a pregnant woman."

Trish laughed softly. "You know that's not what I meant. I don't even feel right talking to Draco. He still doesn't know, and I'd like to keep it that way. But it was nice to tell Hinata," Trish said, smiling gratefully at Hinata. "You're very calming."

Hinata smiled gently, but said nothing.

"You could always move to Suna," Meg hinted.

"Ha! I'm sure Sai would agree to _that_," Trish said sarcastically.

"Oh, I know. But I can still hope, right?"

"Of course," she said, but her eyes were far away. "Hey, I'll see you in the morning, alright? I'm really… Sorry, it's that time of the week. I should have eaten before I came, but you know me."

"No, go ahead. I love you," Meg called extravagantly.

Sai was watching Trish, so he knew when she stood. Without a word to each other, they leave the room.

"So?" Meg asked, as soon as they were out of earshot. "Has he asked you yet?"

Hinata rolled her eyes. "No," she said. "And I doubt he will, at least not for awhile. You know Naruto. He's like a little kid. I don't know when he'll be ready for the next step, but he's not now."

Meg pouted. "That's lame."

"Yeah, well, that's Naruto."

They giggled.

"You're not laughing about me are you?" Gaara asked as he came up behind them. He leaned over Meg and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Of course not," Meg said, still chuckling.

"Are you ready for bed?" Gaara asked. "I'm bushed."

Hinata smiled and stood up, taking Naruto's hand. "I think that's our cue to leave. Bye Meg."

"Bye, Meggie! Bye, Gaara! Bye, Gaara Junior!" Naruto yelled cheerfully.

Gaara smacked the back of his head. "Stop that. It's not good to yell at unborn babies." But he was smiling, so Naruto didn't worry too much.

That night, as Meg drifted between the world of consciousness and unconsciousness, she murmured to Gaara, "I'm glad we're all together."

"Me, too," he whispered back.

Perhaps, this is what Juugo might have seen, if he had not drifted away.

* * *

A/N: And that's a wrap! WHOO! I think this is one of the quickest updates you've ever gotten from me. I'm not going to waste time whining about reviews...instead, I'll waste time to tell you hat I got the Twilight Soundtrack for Christmas! It's AMAZING!

I'll try to update _X Why Love Hurts_ soon, but in the meantime, check out my fictionpress.

I'll be posting a new story soon as well, as soon as I get a bunch of chapters done. So who knows when that will happen? Not me. It will almost definitely be Twilight.

I'd really appreciate it if you guys could review. It would completely make my day.

Happy Christmas! Or Happy Hannukah! Or Happy Kwanza! Or maybe even Feliz Navidad!! Whatever floats your boat! I'm so glad this story is over. Okay, done.

~A.F.i.T.A

P.S. You might feel that Juugo wasn't really resolved. But think about it—how would I have resolved him? This was the only solution I could think of, wheter it truly is one, or not. This is Juugo. I won't make him something he's not.


	15. Plagiarism? Heck, no!

Okay, I'm absolutely pissed right now. It's really, really annoying to have someone tell me that I'm plagiarizing.

Um, newsflash? I'm not. I wrote Harry Potter and the Other Snake Lord, okay? Me. Originally GaaraRoxmySox, then Invasion of the Band Geeks, and now, AFireintheAttic. Me! Tada?

Yeah, anywhere else, that previous paragraph would have annoyed the crap out of me. But this is so frustrating. Honestly, it's one thing to be plagiarized—which is also _really_ frustrating—but it's another thing to be accused of plagiarizing.

And, I just spent way too much time searching for the stupid story in the crossover section. After looking through every story, I didn't see one that looked like mine—of course, I was only reading the summaries.

If, by any chance, my wonderful readers, you are still reading Naruto and Harry Potter fictions, please give me a heads up if you see something that is like this. What I've been told—twice, now!—is that "I" copied it word for word, but I changed a few things. So, the bogus copy should be almost exactly like mine, but a bit different in the first chapter, or so.

I really don't even understand why someone would steal THIS story. It's not even that good. Really? Sheesh.

Thank you guys for taking the time to read… and I understand if you don't want to look for it. I'm not asking you to go out of your way, just, if you happen to come across it, please let me know.

~AFireintheAttic


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